Judiciary's Claim About Arrest of 12 Protesters in Dehdasht: It Was a Tribal Clash

The judiciary confirmed the arrest of 12 citizens in Dehdasht during protests against the Islamic Republic of Iran on the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution, claiming that the reason for their arrest was a 'local clash between two tribes.' This claim comes despite multiple video reports of ongoing protests during the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution, which the government celebrates as 'Decade of Fajr,' showing protesters chanting 'Death to the Dictator.' According to a report on Tuesday, March 7, by the government-affiliated news agency Mizan, the spokesperson for the judiciary confirmed the arrest of 12 citizens in Dehdasht, the capital of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, but claimed they were arrested due to 'tribal conflict.' Asghar Jahangir, the spokesperson for the judiciary, announced that the charges against the arrested protesters included 'disturbing public order' and also claimed that one of them was 'a foreign national.' During the protests that lasted several days in Dehdasht and following chants against the Islamic Republic, a number of citizens were arrested on the evening of February 12. According to a previous report by Voice of America, during the protests, demonstrators directly targeted Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, chanting slogans such as 'Seyed Ali Must Go' and 'Death to the Dictator.' Reports indicate that among the arrested protesters, Ahmad Nour Mohammadi was transferred to the detention center of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with the charge of 'leading the protests,' while three brothers named Hossein, Alireza, and Hamid Parisai, along with Jaber Foroughi and Pouria Barati, were sent to Dehdasht prison, and Atefeh Tahernia was transferred to Yasuj prison. Additionally, Amir Hossein Jafari, a 17-year-old protester, was taken to the Yasuj Reform and Training Center. The identities of four other detainees were identified by a human rights activist group in Iran: Kamran Bozouri, a 16-year-old, Shahram Nouranian, Shahryar Heshmat Nasab, and Reza Yeganeh. The judiciary's claim regarding the reason for the arrest of protesters opposing the Islamic Republic and labeling it as a 'tribal dispute' comes as a human rights organization emphasized in a report that the government has executed a number of protesters in recent years under unrelated charges such as 'fabricated murder charges' to reduce international pressure on itself.