More than 60 protesters have been killed in the southwestern province of Khuzestan (Ahwaz) since anti-government protests erupted across Iran over gasoline price hikes last Friday, according to local sources of the Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation (AHRO). 

 

Protesters in Iran initially took to the streets to protest a sudden government decision last week to raise the minimum price for gasoline by 50 percent. 

 

The Islamic Republic’s violent crackdown on the protests led to protesters chanting for the fall of the dictatorial regime of Iran. 

 

While the death toll has been estimated to be at at least 250, Khuzestan has had the highest number of protesters killed so far, according to independent human rights organizations. 

 

Due to the Internet shut-down imposed by the regime in Iran, as well as the complete censorship of any independent reporting, AHRO has so far only been able to obtain the names of a fraction of the killed protesters:

 

In the city Khorramshahr (Muhammara): 

1- Meysam Meniat

2- Mohsen Mohammad poor 17 years old

3- Hassan Ghazli

4- Milad Hamidi

 

The city of Abadan:

5- Ebrahim Matouri

6- Ali Baghlani (son of Taher)

 

The city of Shooshtar:

7- Seyed Ahmad Mousavi Jeawleh

 

The city of Ahwaz:

8- Hamza Sawari (22 years old)

9- Mohammad Reza Assafi Zirgani (20 years old)

10- Meysam Mojadam 

 

The city of Mahshahr (Ma’shour):

11- Shahab Hattawi (Son of Abdollah)

12- Ghasem Bawi (Son of Mansour)

13- Mohammad Khaledi

14- Adnan Helali

15- Mojtaba Ebadi

16- Mansour Dris

17- Abbas Asakereh 

18- Ahmad Khajeh Albuali 

19- Ali Khajeh Albuali 

20- Mohammad Khaleghi 

21- Reza Asakereh 

22- Mrs Etghi (Wife of Mokhtar Etghi)

23- Yousef Khaledi

 

City of Behbahan: 

24- Mohammad Hossein Ghanawati 

25- Ehsan Abdollahnejad 

26- Mehrdad Dashtiniya

27- Mahmoud Dashtiniya

28- Ahmad Hashmdar

29- Shabnam Diyani 

30- Tadin (first name unknown)

31- Farzad Ansari

32- Farzad Tazmipour 

 

The city of Ramhormoz (Ramez):

33- Mousavi (first name unknown)

34- Hadi Ghorbani 

 

A number of security forces have also been killed in the city of Shadegan (Fallahiya), were more than 12 protesters were killed. 

 

Human rights activists have also reported that Iranian authorities have declared the Khuzestan province a closed military zone, and have blocked all access and exit routes to cities and areas of the region, enforcing the rules of a military regime. 

 

Security officials have also reportedly turned a school building in the city of Abadan into a detention centre, keeping hundreds of detainees in there in completely inhumane conditions.

 

The Internet across Iran remains largely shut-down, and the country is in a complete state of media censorship. Given this, the regime-affiliated media has been unilaterally publishing fake news and false reports aimed at justifying the unprecedented repression of protesters by the Islamic Republic. 

 

The governor of the capital Tehran had previously said that there were protests in 22 out of a total of 31 provinces in Iran. 

 

So far in these protests, more than 251 citizens have been killed, 3,700 have been injured, and more than 7,000 people have been arrested, based on reports by human rights organisations and activists on social media. 

 

AHRO strongly condemns the unprecedented killing and repression of protesters by the Islamic Republic regime, which at this point can be classified as a crime against humanity. 

 

We at AHRO call on the international community to intervene to put an end to the bloodbath in Iran, and hold the regime and all the perpetrators of the crimes committed against the people of Iran in the past week accountable for their crimes. 

 

AHRO also calls for a fact-finding committee to be sent by relevant international bodies to investigate the killings and crimes of the Iranian regime against defenceless civilians and calls on international organizations to press the Islamic Republic to lift the ban on the Internet.

 

AHRO also calls on international organizations and human rights organizations to press Iran to officially announce the names of all the killed, wounded and arrested, and to release all the arrested as soon as possible. 

 

AHRO also calls on international organizations and human rights organizations to press Iran to provide the conditions for peaceful demonstrations for Iranians in accordance with international laws and covenants. 

 

The Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation (AHRO) 

22 November, 2019