A Human Rights Organization: At Least 5 Children and Adolescents Among the Detainees in Zahedan

The Hengaw Human Rights Organization announced on Saturday, October 21, that it has identified 24 of the detainees from the protest in Zahedan on Friday, October 20, stating that five children and adolescents under 18 years old are among them. The report mentioned that 14-year-old Mohammad Amin Mohammadzahi, 17-year-old Yasser Ali Zahi, 15-year-old Bilal Rakhshani, 17-year-old Yasin Eisa Zahi Rigi, and 16-year-old Mohammad Awais Naroui are the detained children and adolescents from that day. The organization noted that a large number of people were arrested during the Friday protests by the security and military forces of the Islamic Republic. Earlier, the 'Hal Vash' website reported that 500 people were detained on Friday, and it had confirmed the identities of 19 of them. According to Hal Vash, the security forces transferred the detainees to 'unknown locations' using buses. The website reported that after the Friday prayers at the Makki Mosque in Zahedan, the security and military forces attacked the protesters and besieged the mosque. The report stated that the security and military forces attempted to enter the Makki Mosque. In this regard, Hengaw wrote that several of the detainees in Zahedan were injured due to beatings, raising 'serious concerns about their health status in the detention centers of the security institutions.' Mowlavi Abdulhamid, the Sunni Friday prayer leader in Zahedan, a week earlier on Friday, October 14, called for calm from both sides regarding the Israel-Hamas war, stating that the reality is that neither Muslims nor Jews can eliminate the other. Since October of last year, following the killing of many protesters in Zahedan who gathered in protest against 'the assault of a police commander on a young Baloch girl' after Friday prayers, Zahedan and some Baloch-populated cities in Iran have witnessed protests every Friday. On October 8, 2022, police officers in Zahedan shot at protesters and passersby who were protesting the inaction of officials regarding a police commander accused of assaulting a Baloch girl, resulting in the deaths of at least 100 people and injuring hundreds more. This day has been dubbed 'Bloody Friday of Zahedan,' and the Friday protests in Zahedan have continued since then. The report highlighted the violent and widespread arrests during the protest on October 28, with chants of 'shameless, shameless' directed at government officials. New methods of repression were noted, such as the spraying of yellow paint. Hal Vash reported that over 500 people were violently detained during the protest on October 28 in Zahedan, with a significant presence of repressive forces around the Makki Mosque and the arrest of protesters in Zahedan.