The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran), and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) reported that over the last few weeks, Iranian citizens from the Sistan and Baluchestan province have been the target of extreme oppressive force by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and other repression tactics by the Iranian regime.
(PMOI / MEK Iran) network from the Baluchestan region, known as the MEK resistance units, have been trying to spread awareness of the atrocities being committed by the regime.
Baluch prisoners tortured and executed in southwest #Iran prison
The three men identified as 28-year-old Hassan Dehvari, 21-year-old Elias Qalandarzehi, and Omid Mahmoudzehi#StopExecutionsInIran
via @IranHrm https://t.co/ajx1An3CUd— Kazem (@Kianoosh_sa1) January 4, 2021
There has been a sharp increase in executions being carried out in the region. The Baluch Activists have reported at least 16 citizens have been executed by hanging in the Zahedan Central Prison over the last 35 days.
This follows a sinister pattern that the Iranian regime has created; using executions as a form of public intimidation and control. The most high-profile case of this being the recent execution of Navid Afkari, an Iranian wrestling champion who was arrested after partaking in the 2018 protests for regime change. He was falsely accused of murder and, despite the international outcry against the sentence, was executed on 1 August 2020.
More Oppressive Measures
The regime has also employed further destructive action against the Sistan and Baluchestan province. On 23 January, the State Security Forces demolished the foundations of a new Sunni mosque that was under construction in the city of Iranshahr. The (PMOI / MEK Iran) network reports that the demolition was carried out under the order of Mostafa Mohami, the representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for the province.
The (PMOI / MEK Iran) network, reported “The destruction of the mosque was taken place in cooperation with the local security council and armed forces. Indeed, the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) had prepared the scene and played the key role.”
Ethnic and religious minorities in Iran are continuously treated as second-class citizens by the regime. The Sunni population of Iran repeatedly speak out against the discrimination that they face and the pressure that is put upon them by acts such as the mosque’s demolition.
According to the order of Mostafa Mohami, Khamenei's representative at Iranshahr city in Sistan & Baluchestan province, MOIS agents and IRGC destroyed the foundation of Sunnis' Mosque.
This sectarian act prompted residents' wrath. They're getting ready to protest at Nour mosque. pic.twitter.com/zObG7OBouR— IranNewsUpdate (@IranNewsUpdate1) January 24, 2021
Lethal Regime Response
One way in which the regime places constant pressure on the residents of the Sistan and Baluchestan province is to create conditions of dire poverty. Many citizens of the region rely exclusively on transferring and purchasing fuel, earning barely enough money to put food on their family’s table. Iran’s state-run oil company has recently cut off the fuel quota cards for truckers from the province, making it incredibly difficult for them to carry out their occupation.
Truckers and citizens from the Sistan and Baluchestan province have held rallies in response to this unreasonable repressive tactic by the regime. However, their outcry has fallen upon deaf ears. In fact, it is dangerous for citizens to even protest the regime’s oppression, given the lethal response that previous rallies have been met with.
Jan. 24 – Iranshahr, SE #Iran
Locals gathered yesterday outside the Nour Mosque to protest the destruction of the foundations of a Sunni Mosque on orders of Khamenei's representative. The regime systematically violates the rights of Iran's Baluch Sunni minority. pic.twitter.com/X2tVlIUGD7— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) January 25, 2021
The State Security Forces (SSF) have used lethal force in recent months against protesting citizens in recent months, resulting in the death of several poverty-stricken residents. On 24 January the SSF, MOIS, and undercover agents, targeted unarmed citizens in the Kolahduz district of Iranshahr county under the pretense of countering trafficking. It is clear that the Iranian regime is targeting this region, pressuring and discriminating against the Sunni citizens.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi is the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s (NCRI): Hail to the courageous youths in Iranshahr, SE Sistan, and Baluchistan Province in Iran. I strongly condemn the brutal attacks on the residents of this city and the destruction of the Sunni Mosque there. I urge the young people to support them.
Hail to the courageous youths in #Iranshahr, SE Sistan &Baluchistan Province in #Iran. I strongly condemn the brutal attacks on the residents of this city and the destruction of the Sunni Mosque there. I urge the young people to support them.
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) January 24, 2021
and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTube
