Discovery of the Bodies of Two Iranian Fishermen on the Coasts of Bushehr and Kuwait

The body of one fisherman was found in the waters of Bushehr, and another fisherman’s body was discovered in the waters of Kuwait, while there is still no information about the fate of three Iranian fishermen who were detained by Kuwaiti forces about 40 days ago. Ali Hassanpour, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Bushehr, reported on Tuesday, March 15, that the body of a fisherman had been discovered and identified on the shores of Bushehr province. Mr. Hassanpour stated that judicial authorities are awaiting the 'final opinion of forensic medicine regarding the cause of death of this individual,' and his identity has been established. He did not mention the name of this fisherman and added that the cause of death is still unknown. The prosecutor of Bushehr also reported the discovery of another fisherman’s body in Kuwaiti waters, whose identity has not yet been determined. According to Hassanpour, 'given the physical characteristics, the likelihood that the body is one of the missing Bushehr fishermen is very low.' Three Iranian fishermen were detained by Kuwaiti forces on Thursday, February 3, and transferred into the territory of that country, and there has been no information about their fate for about 40 days. The identities of the missing fishermen have been announced as Abdolhasan Bakhtiar, Iman Daryapour, and Abbas Abbasi. In February of this year, a video showing the 'amputation of the fingers' of these fishermen was released, which judicial authorities in Bushehr province stated 'cannot be relied upon.' Southern Iran has significant shared maritime borders with some Arab countries such as Kuwait, where reports of fishermen being detained in these waters are published annually. Local fishermen are usually arrested on charges of 'illegal' entry into the waters of the country that detains them, imprisoned for a period, and then released after negotiations. In this context, there has been criticism of the government's diplomacy regarding the release of Iranian fishermen.