Arrest of Five Suspects in Shooting Incident of Two Kolbers from Baneh

The military prosecutor of Kurdistan province announced the identification and arrest of five suspects in the incident that led to the death of two kolbers from Baneh. The official news agency of the Iranian judiciary (Mizan) reported this on Tuesday (September 5) citing the public relations office of the judicial organization of the armed forces. On Monday morning, during the shooting of border guards in Baneh towards a group of kolbers, one kilometer from the border and near the village of "Hang Jal", two kolbers were shot dead. Mojtaba Shirood Bozorgi, the military prosecutor of Kurdistan province, identified the two kolbers as Haidar Faraji and Ghader Bahrami, adding that after the arrival of responsible officials at the scene, the examination of the bodies by forensic medicine, and the reconstruction of the crime scene by a dispatched committee to investigate the incident, five suspects were identified. According to him, the military prosecutor's office summoned these five individuals as the shooters and after initial investigations, all of them were sent to detention with bail. He did not mention the names of the suspects. The military prosecutor of Kurdistan province also reported that the weapons of the suspects and the bullets fired have been sent to the provincial criminal police for examination, adding that "we are waiting for the expert's opinion on the use of weapons by the suspects in this incident." Mojtaba Shirood Bozorgi promised the victims' families that "this incident will be dealt with carefully, quickly, and decisively" in the military prosecutor's office. Mizan also reported in another news that the public prosecutor and revolutionary prosecutor of the central province of Kurdistan stated that the two deceased kolbers were "smuggling goods into the country when the officers shot at them." Akbar Jouhari added that since the smuggled goods of these kolbers were "explosives," they died instantly after being shot. Kolbers are individuals who carry goods across the borders of Iran for their livelihood. They are mainly employed in the provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah. The governor of Baneh also stated on Wednesday (September 6) in an interview with ISNA news agency that the legal process regarding the "culprits of the death of the two kolbers from Baneh is underway." Mohammad Fallahi announced that the reason for shooting at these kolbers was their "failure to heed" the border guards' stop order. He also referred to individuals who protested the death of these two kolbers in front of the governor's office as "opportunists" and "rioters," claiming that they acted at the invitation of "anti-regime websites." He distinguished the people of Baneh from these individuals and thanked the citizens of this city for expressing their disgust towards the "ill-considered and illegal gathering that involved non-local participants." Following the shooting deaths of these two kolbers, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the families of the deceased and several residents of Baneh gathered in front of the governor's office demanding the authorities address the issue. ILNA news agency reported that the protesters believe that since there are limited job opportunities in the border regions, young people resort to kolbari out of necessity, and the safety of kolbers must be preserved. Mohsen Beiglari, the representative of Baneh in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also called for severe punishment for those responsible for the shooting incident and stated that they should be "severely punished." Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, also responded to a question regarding one of the kolbers who was also a village chief, stating, "We need to investigate why a village chief is engaging in kolbari." Human rights groups have described the direct and unannounced shooting at kolbers as "inhumane" and have strongly criticized such actions by the military and police forces of the Islamic Republic. The Shargh newspaper also reported on February 3 that 30 members of parliament submitted an urgent bill to support kolbers. On July 29, Rasoul Khazari, a member of the Social Committee of Parliament, announced that there are a total of 70,000 kolbers along the country's borders and emphasized the need to organize them.