Amnesty International has issued an urgent action appeal on behalf of scores of Ahwazi Arabs, including children, arrested during the Eid-al-Adha protests in Ahwaz City on 11 January.
The leading human rights organisation listed the names of seven of those arrested and being held in custody. Five of those listed by Amnesty are under the age of 21, including an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old. The other two are imams Saleh 'Abidawi and Sheikh Saleh al-Haidari. Amnesty states that they are among scores of those arrested following demonstrations "demanding an end to the persecution of Arabs, poverty and unemployment among Arabs, and the release of political prisoners arrested following unrest in Khuzestan province which began in April 2005." The group says that those arrested could be at risk of torture. It has also highlighted reports on Sheikh al-Haidari's hunger strike, which were originally published by the Mohammara News Agency (MONA).
Amnesty says it has received reports of three killings of demonstrators by security forces. The British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS) has a list of five names of those killed, but the number could be higher.
Links
Amnesty International Urgent Action - 1 February
Liberty or Death for Ahwaz Imam on Hunger Strike - BAFS report, 29 January
Photos of two Ahwazis martyred by Iran - BAFS report, 26 January
Iran: More arrests in Ahwaz - BAFS report, 20 January
Iran authorities arrest hundreds and shoot demonstrators in Ahwaz - BAFS report, 17 January
Iran's crack-down as Ahwaz Eid protests continue - BAFS report, 13 January
Iran security forces attack Ahwazi anti-government protest - BAFS report, 12 January
Labels: Amnesty , intifada
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keywords: ahvaz ahwaz ahwazi arabistan khuzestan khuzistan khuzestani arab arabistan iran iranian human rights security oil news ahmadinejad ethnic cleansing
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