2022 Zahedan massacre

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2022 Zahedan massacre
Part of Mahsa Amini protests
Date30 September 2022
Location
Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran
Result Violent crackdown on protesters, hundreds of protestors killed and injured
Suspension of schools
Heavy protests continued every Friday
Belligerents
Iranian security forces Protestors of the Death of Mahsa Amini
Casualties and losses
4 killed 96 killed, 300+ injured

The Zahedan massacre,[1][2] also known as Bloody Friday (Persian: جمعه خونین, romanized: Jom'e-ye Xunin)(Balochi: زائدانءِ ھۏنݔن آدݔنَگ),⁣[3] was a series of violent crackdowns starting with protesters gathering and chanting in front of a police station near the Great Mosalla of Zahedan, Iran on 30 September 2022 leading to many casualties.[4][5][3]

Security forces opened fire on protesters, violently cracked down on protesters in Zahedan, and later opened fire on worshipers holding the Friday Prayers in the Jameh Mosque of Makki, leading to street clashes resulting in at least 96 protesters killed and 300 injured.[6][7][4][8]

The clashes were mainly in response to the alleged rape of a 15-year-old Baloch girl in June by Colonel Ebrahim Kouchakzai,[9] the commander of the police force in Chabahar, and the 16 September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest by the Guidance Patrol.

Schools in Zahedan and Nosratabad were shut down temporarily due to concerns for the welfare of schoolchildren.[10]

Background[edit]

See also: Mahsa Amini protests

The main cause of the incident was the death of the Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, and an alleged prior incidence of rape by Colonel Ebrahim Kouchakzai in Chabahar during an interview with a 15-year-old girl because of the incidence of a murder case in a nearby house. The colonel told the girl he had to "inspect her body" and then proceeded to molest and rape the girl, who later informed her mother of this, causing much anger.[11]

Findings[edit]

Mohammad Iqbal Naibzahi who was killed on Bloody Friday of Zahedan

A 6 October 2022 Amnesty International report found that on 30 September government forces had "unlawfully fired live ammunition, metal pellets and teargas" directly into the vicinity of the Great Mosalla of Zahedan prayer site, a large prayer site across the road from the police station, "where hundreds of people, including children and older people, were still performing Friday prayers." Amnesty International acknowledged "a minority of protesters throwing stones towards the police station", but found no evidence that "would justify the use of lethal force". Amnesty International further stated that "many victims killed (were) facing away from the security forces and posed no imminent threat". The report stated there were 66 deaths accounted for so far, plus an unknown number of additional victims.[3]

Baloch Activists' Campaign first put the number of those killed during the protests at 42 and those injured at 197, Of those, 160 people were injured by live ammunition and the rest by shotgun fire,[12] later putting the number at a higher figure of at least 96 killed (including 13 children)[13] and more than 300 injured,[7][8] adding that most injured are in critical condition and that the real figure is probably much higher.[7]

Court martial[edit]

Iranian armed forces launched a private hearing April 2023.[14]

Reactions[edit]

Molavi Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi called the incident a "catastrophe" and demanded "trial and punishment for those responsible for those who have killed people", adding that worshipers were shot in head and heart by snipers.[15] Later on, he commented on the Iranian government's claim that the killings were perpetrated by separatist terrorist organizations such as Jaish ul Adl, saying that "neither Jaish ul Adl nor any other such organization have had no involvement in this matter".[7]

Reza Pahlavi wrote in a tweet that the killings will "only expedite the regime's demise".[12]

The hashtag #Speak4Zahedan was popularized on Twitter by Baloch activists.[7] From this event, a picture of Khodanur Lojei, a Baloch protester whose hands were tied to a flagpole, with a cup of water put in front of him (but out of his reach) became a symbol in the ongoing protests.[16]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "احراز هویت دست‌کم 7 کودک بلوچ در بین جان‌باختگان قتل عام زاهدان". العربیه فارسی (in Persian). 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  2. ^ "خبرگزاری حال وش/ سندی از جنایت روز گذشته جمعه ۸ مهرماه ۱۴۰۱، در شیر آباد زاهدان توسط نیروهای نظامی جمهوری اسلامی ایران بر علیه کودکان و مردم بی دفاع صورت گرفته است". حال وش (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  3. ^ a b c "Iran: At least 82 Baluchi protesters and bystanders killed in bloody crackdown". Amnesty International. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b "جمعه خونین زاهدان؛ دستکم ۵۸ کشته و بیش از ۲۷۰ زخمی – DW – ۱۴۰۱/۷/۸". Deutsche Welle (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  5. ^ "Several Killed As Police Shoots Protesters In Southeastern Iran". Iran International. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  6. ^ "خیزش سراسری علیه جمهوری اسلامی ادامه دارد؛ زاهدانی‌ها روز جمعه به خیابان آمدند". ایران اینترنشنال (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  7. ^ a b c d e "سایت حال‌وش از کشته شدن ۹۱ نفر در جمعه خونین زاهدان خبر داد؛ حداقل هفت کودک در میان کشتگان". ایران اینترنشنال (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  8. ^ a b "تاکنون: ۶۷ کشته و بیش از ۳۰۰ مجروح مردمی در اعتراضات زاهدان". Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  9. ^ "Friday Imam Confirms Rape of a 15-Year-Old Girl by Police Chief". iranwire.com. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  10. ^ "مدارس زاهدان تعطیل شد". روزنامه دنیای اقتصاد (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  11. ^ "تجاوز جنسی فرمانده نیروی انتظامی چابهار سرهنگ ابراهیم کوچکزایی به یک دختر نوجوان روستایی". حال وش (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  12. ^ a b فردا, رادیو (October 2022). "حمله به معترضان در زاهدان "دست‌کم ۴۲ کشته و ۲۰۰ زخمی" برجا گذاشت". رادیو فردا (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  13. ^ "احراز هویت کودک ۱۳ بلوچ از کشته شدگان جمعه خونین زاهدان". حال وش (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  14. ^ "رییس سازمان قضایی نیروهای مسلح سیستان و بلوچستان: برای متهمان حوادث هشتم مهر زاهدان کیفرخواست صادر شده / برخی از افرادی که اقدام به تیراندازی کردند، دچار افراط و تفریط شدند". fa. January 24, 1402. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  15. ^ ""جمعه خونین" زاهدان؛ مولوی عبدالحمید: تیرها به سر و قلب نمازگزاران شلیک شده". BBC News فارسی (in Persian). 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  16. ^ "درباره خدانور لجعی و نحوه کشته شدن او چه می‌دانیم؟". factnameh.com (in Persian). 11 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
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