Officials Claim Arrest of 9 Officers; Human Rights Organizations Demand International Investigation into the Killing of 5-Year-Old in Iranshahr

Following the shooting of a Baluch family's vehicle by special forces in Iranshahr and the killing of 5-year-old Yousef Shahlibar, which sparked widespread reactions, judicial officials of the Islamic Republic claimed to have arrested "9 guilty officers." Concurrently, several human rights organizations issued a joint statement, describing this incident as a manifestation of "systematic violence against Baluch children" and calling for sanctions against special forces and independent international investigations. According to the government news agency ISNA, Shams Abadi, the prosecutor of Zahedan, claimed that "these 9 officers were arrested in connection with the killing of this child" and promised that "necessary actions will be taken" while addressing them as "offenders." In response to public outrage, Ali Rahimi, the social deputy of the police in Sistan and Baluchestan, also claimed during a meeting with Yousef's family that "the judicial and police systems are pursuing this case." Meanwhile, Rahmdel Bamari, the representative of Iranshahr, confirmed the arrest of some officers but provided a contradictory account of the incident. He described the shooting as the result of "a mistaken chase" and claimed it is still unclear whether the shooting was by police officers or if another vehicle was involved. However, local reports and statements from human rights organizations have identified the special forces as directly responsible for this deadly shooting. Bamari also mentioned that officials are following up on the matter but did not comment on the official acknowledgment of responsibility by security agencies. In reaction to this incident, several human rights organizations, including the "Baluch Activists Campaign," condemned the shooting in a joint statement, describing it as part of "systematic violence against the people of Baluchistan, especially Baluch children." According to this statement, on the evening of Tuesday, March 6, the vehicle carrying the Shahlibar family was shot at by police special forces in the Chah Jamal area of Iranshahr "without prior warning." In this shooting, 5-year-old Yousef Shahlibar lost his life, and his mother, Maryam Shahlibar, who was pregnant, was severely injured and lost her fetus. According to the report, after the incident, the officers took the injured to the hospital but left the scene without accepting responsibility. The statement cites human rights sources indicating that negligence in the immediate treatment of Yousef was a significant factor in his death. Following the incident, Islamic Republic security forces arrived at the hospital and arrested the driver of the Shahlibar family's vehicle, transferring him to a secret detention facility. The statement adds that the driver has been pressured to deny the officers' shooting. Additionally, the victim's family has been placed under heavy security measures and prohibited from informing or filing complaints. The authors of the statement warn that in recent years, dozens of Baluch children have been killed, injured, or disabled due to shootings by security forces. This is while the right to life is one of the most fundamental human rights that the Islamic Republic of Iran is obligated to uphold according to the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. The signatories of this statement have called for international sanctions against special forces, international prosecution of the commanders of these forces, and a ban on arms sales to this military entity due to widespread human rights violations. They have also emphasized the necessity of conducting independent investigations by the UN Human Rights Council, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Doctors Without Borders. The Baluch Activists Campaign, the Human Rights Organization of Baluchistan, the Human Rights Organization of Ahvaz, the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Kurdistan, the Turkmen Sahra Human Rights Association, the Abdolrahman Boroumand Foundation, Justice for Iran, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, the National Decision Council, the Alliance for Iran, the Human Rights Campaign in Iran, the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, and the Human Rights Defenders Center are among the organizations that signed this joint statement. The funeral of Yousef Shahlibar, the 5-year-old boy killed by military forces in Iranshahr, took place amidst the outcry over the shooting and lack of medical care in the hospital. Reports from "Hengaw" detail the deadly shooting of government forces against 12 Baluch citizens.