Protests Against Display of Illegal Immigrants 'in a Cage' in Shiraz

The display of a number of illegal Afghan immigrants at an exhibition showcasing the achievements of the police force titled 'Discoveries of Shiraz Police Stations' has sparked protests from several political and social figures as well as Iranian and Afghan social media users. Officials from the police force and the Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Republic have yet to respond to this action. On Tuesday, September 6, the police held an exhibition of 'discoveries from Shiraz police stations in the past 48 hours,' showcasing items seized by the force, including drugs, alcoholic beverages, and 'illegal' films. At this exhibition, several Afghan nationals who had been arrested for lacking residency permits in Iran were displayed with their eyes covered by white cloth and surrounded by a metal fence. On the same day, Nasser Keshavarz, the deputy coordinator of the police force in Fars province, announced that during a two-day operation, 277 'illegal foreign nationals' had been arrested in the province. The display of Afghan nationals in a cage provoked outrage among many Iranian and Afghan social media users. Abdullah Ramazanzadeh, spokesperson for former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, wrote on his Instagram page, 'I am ashamed of humanity, ashamed of the people of Afghanistan.' Ali Jamali, a member of the Central Council of the Consolidation of Unity, also wrote on his Facebook page, 'Shame on us for seeing and remaining silent. I have nothing to say to the perpetrators of this humiliation of my Afghan brothers who have no sense of humanity. Why are we silent?! Why do we not protest?' This action has also received significant attention on Telegram channels, with some social media users referring to it as 'caging' the detained Afghans. Meanwhile, the website Ensafnews in Iran published a report on the reactions of some Afghan cultural figures to this action by the police. Among them, Mustafa Hazara, an Afghan poet and journalist, wrote on his Facebook page: 'How low can a person become! Look, my Iranian friends, if you travel outside your geography, you will see that the value of a person is not what you think.' According to this website, Mohammad Reza Khushk, a representative from Herat in the Afghan parliament, also reacted to this incident, writing: 'They say in the city where Saadi said, 'You who are unconcerned with the suffering of others, it is not right that your name should be called a human,' its people display human beings like ISIS in a cage.' Mehdi Jafari, a blogger from 'Afghanistan My Land,' also addressed Afghan government officials, stating, 'Shame on you! You who are fighting for position and power should die upon hearing this news.' The Afghan Information Network from websites of Afghans residing in Iran also referred to this action by the police as 'the exhibition of Afghans in a cage in Iran.' The police and the Ministry of Interior of Iran have yet to respond to these reports. However, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Iran's Minister of Interior, had previously announced the monthly arrest of '100 to 150 thousand' illegal Afghan nationals and their transfer back to Afghanistan. In recent years, the Iranian government has enacted regulations for the return of Afghan nationals to their country, including the 'Regulations to Expedite the Return of Afghan Nationals,' which impose restrictions on Afghan nationals without residency permits in Iran. In several provinces of Iran, including Fars, Isfahan, Bushehr, South Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, Khuzestan, Semnan, Fars, Qazvin, Kerman, Golestan, Markazi, and Yazd, the residency of Afghans has also been declared prohibited. The enactment of these decrees and laws has been a subject of extensive discussions in Iranian civil society and has led to numerous protests in recent years.