We, the signatory organizations, express our deep concern over the recent wave of arrests in Ahwaz Region (officially known as Khuzestan). In recent days, dozens of civil activists, poets, and social media users have been arbitrarily arrested.
These measures have been carried out along with violent attacks on homes, threats to families and confiscation of the personal property of the individuals. Transferring detainees to disclosed locations and lack of access to information about their condition increases the risk of torture ill-treatment and secret executions.
These measures are both human rights violations, and evidence of the Islamic Republic of Iran failing to meet its international obligations to guarantee freedom of expression, the right to peaceful assembly, and the right to a fair trial.
The recent arrests are part of a repressive policy aimed at weakening the cultural, social, and political identity of the Arab people of the Ahwaz region (Khuzestan) and systematically violating their fundamental rights.
We ask the United Nations, human rights organizations, and the international community to act immediately and demand the immediate and unconditional release of the detainees. Accurate and continuous reporting can help expose these violations and end repressive policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Signatories
Abdorrahman Boroumand Center
Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation
All Human Rights for All in Iran
Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran (AHRAZ)
Balochistan Human Rights Group (BHRG)
Defenders of Human Rights Center
The Human Rights Organization Campaign of Baloch Activists
ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty)
Kurdistan Human Rights Network
Kurdistan Human Rights Association-Geneva (KMMK-G)
Kurdpa Human Rights Organization
PEN America
Siamak Pourzand Foundation (SPF)
United for Iran (U4I)