Death of 2 Child Porters and Injury of 43 Others at Iran-Iraq Border Over One Year

The website "Kolbar News" reported on the occasion of June 12, World Day Against Child Labor, that at least two child porters were killed and 43 others injured over the past year. According to Kolbar News, these child porters were killed and injured in the year leading up to June 13, 2024, due to factors such as "direct gunfire from border guard forces, torture by Iraqi border guards, falling from mountains, frostbite, and landmine explosions." The ages of these child porters ranged from 14 to 18 years. Based on statistics published by this website, two child porters named Farooq Alizadeh, 17 years old, and Hestyar Abdolkarimi, 15 years old, lost their lives due to direct gunfire from the Islamic Republic's border guards and being trapped in snow and frostbite. Additionally, a 17-year-old child porter was killed by direct fire from the Islamic Republic's forces at the "Hengejal" border in Baneh. One child porter was also injured in the leg due to a landmine explosion, and another child porter was injured after falling from a mountain while being chased by the Islamic Republic's border guard forces. The report indicates that eight porters were arrested by Iraqi border guards at the "Biara" border in the Halabja province of Iraqi Kurdistan. According to this report, these forces beat and shaved the heads of eight porters, four of whom were aged between 16 and 17. These porters were released after enduring physical and psychological torture and having their mobile phones confiscated at the zero border point. Furthermore, a 17-year-old child porter named Daniel Mam Ahmad was sentenced to two years of imprisonment, 74 lashes, and a fine of two billion tomans by the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Marivan. The news agency "Kurdpa" previously reported that from 2011 to 2023, a total of 2,463 porters were killed or injured in the northwestern and western provinces of Iran. Armed agents of the Islamic Republic, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, have targeted hundreds of porters and traders in recent decades under the pretext of "fighting smuggling." In many cases, relevant Iranian authorities, in response to complaints and follow-ups from victims' families, promote the perpetrators of these shootings instead of holding them accountable and transfer them to other regions of Iran.