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Protests and blocked internet in southeastern Iran

2023-02-24T17:08:57.292Z


Protesters took to the streets in southeastern Iran on Friday, brandishing slogans against the government, despite a major...


Protesters took to the streets in southeastern Iran on Friday, brandishing slogans against the government, despite heavy security and an internet blockage, according to human rights defenders.

Footage uploaded to Telegram by the Baluch Activists Campaign (BAC) group showed protesters carrying signs with the words "

Death to the dictator

", marching through the center of Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Balochistan.

This poorest province in Iran, bordering Pakistan, was one of the main centers of protest that erupted across the country in September.

At least 131 people were killed in the repression of the demonstrations in this province, according to the NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), based in Oslo.

Most were killed in Zahedan on September 30, known as "

Bloody

Friday

"

, when security forces fired indiscriminately at protesters, human rights activists say.

Latest events

The new protests were prompted by reports of the death of a doctor, killed while in police custody, after his arrest in connection with the protest movement.

Ebrahim Rigi had been arrested in Zahedan in 2022, released on bail and then summoned again to the police station where he was beaten to death by officers, according to the Hal Vash site, which observes events in Sistan-Baluchistan.

Iranian authorities have not commented on this information, which could not be confirmed.

According to the BAC Group and Hal Vash, a large police presence was visible in Zahedan on Friday, where worshipers tried to prevent security forces from entering the city's main mosque ahead of the weekly prayer.

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Images, which could not be verified by AFP, showed members of the security forces beating and then taking away a man dressed in the traditional white coat.

Internet monitoring site NetBlocks reported "

significant internet disruptions

" in Zahedan.

Sistan-Balochistan is populated by the Baloch minority, who adhere to Sunni Islam, not Shiism, the dominant current in Iran.

According to human rights defenders, the Baluchis have been victims of discrimination for years.

Since the beginning of the protest movement, Friday prayers at the Grand Makki mosque, the largest in Zahedan, have been accompanied by vehement preaching by Sunni preacher Molavi Abdol Hamid, a figure who supports the protesters.

The internet disruptions may be aimed at preventing people from following his sermons online, the groups say.

"

Listen to the people and the opposition

," said Molavi Abdol Hamid in his last sermon, according to several groups including the BAC.

If you can't solve people's problems, give way to someone who can solve them

,” he added.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-02-24

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