More than 230 Ahwazi Detainees in an Iranian Occupation Crackdown
On the centenary of the occupation of Ahwaz, Iranian occupation forces have intensified their crackdown on the Ahwazi people, with the number of detainees rising to over 230 Ahwazi citizens.
The Iranian occupation authorities launched a wave of arrests targeting members of the Arab Ahwazi population, fearing widespread protests marking the centenary of Ahwaz’s occupation in 1925.
According to human rights sources, since December last year, Iranian occupation security forces have detained dozens of Ahwazi citizens and summoned hundreds to the intelligence headquarters of the IRGC militia (known as Office 114) and the Ministry of Intelligence (Office 113). Many were subjected to interrogations.
The majority of those detained include cultural, civil, and media activists, as well as poets, environmentalists, and individuals targeted for their religious identity. Among the detainees are Milad Bahri, a photographer and social activist; Mustafa Jamal, a poet of the Arabic language; Ahlam Abiat Bandar, a cultural activist; Saeed Ismail, a well-known Ahwazi Arab writer; and the Ahwazi activist Amin Matori, known as “Abu Asal,” among others.
Ahwazi youth continue to suffer systematic persecution and marginalization by the Iranian occupation authorities, including being excluded from employment in Ahwazi institutions under occupation control, as part of a broader “Persianization” project.
Most of those summoned hail from cities such as Ahwaz City, Ma’shour, Muhammarah, Falahiyeh, Susa, Khorramshahr, Hormuz, Abou Shehr, Bandar Jumbroun, Izeh, Testaran, and Karun.
Earlier, Iranian occupation authorities announced the arrest of Ahwazi citizens on accusations of espionage for a Gulf state, reflecting the climate of fear gripping the occupation in Ahwaz.
The Iranian occupation police in Ahwaz claimed to have confiscated several combat and hunting weapons during raids on the homes of Ahwazi citizens.
