Arrests and Absence of Information On Prisoners

Arrests continue in the province of Khuzestan and in the words of a rights activist Karim Dahimi more than 280 people have been arrested in the province recently. The family members of those arrested have told Rooz that they have no information about the condition or whereabouts of their loved ones behind bars. These prisoners are kept in the prisons of Karoon, Amaliyat Karoon, Sepidar Ahvaz, and the detention centers belonging to the ministry of intelligence in the towns of Ahvaz, Hamdie and Shadghan.

Speaking to Rooz, activist Dahimi, an Iranian Arab who lives in Khuzestan province, said he has obtained the names of 280 people who have been detained but quickly adds that others say the actual number are higher.

“Every year on the anniversary of a letter that Mr. Abtahi is attributed to have written, demonstrations break out in the province. And on the anniversary, a security atmosphere is created by the state while some people also engage in protests. This results in arrests. This year, the number of arrests is much higher than previous years and the security atmosphere is more intense,” Dahimi explains. Mohammad Ali Abtahi was the chief of staff to the then-president who apparently wrote a letter about changing the composition of the Arabs in Iran’s Khuzestan province. He denied having written such a letter at the time. But he also points out that the government did not officially deny the existence of such a government circular. Dahimi points out that regardless of whether such an interdepartmental note had been sent or not, people demonstrate on a date that is attributed to it every year.

People were killed in the 2006 demonstrations and the number of death on the 2011 anniversary of the protests stood at 12. Dahimi believes that this year’s arrests were made with the goal of preventing demonstrations. Individuals who have a record of demonstrations or arrest are the targets of the current arrests.

Asked about whether he knew of any person who had been released after arrest, Dahimi said that only a number of under-age youngsters were released on bail. He also explained how his own son who lives in Ahvaz had been summoned to the ministry of intelligence and interrogated on what he did, where he went etc. He was then released but at 3 am that very night, security agents raided the house and arrested him. “All we know about his whereabouts is that he had been initially taken to the ministry of intelligence’s detention center in Ahvaz and then transferred to the Ghods Sepahdar prison.

Another victim of the arrests is Beyt Hardan, a political activist who spent 13 years in prison but now lives outside Iran told Rooz that his son who had not engaged in any political or social activities had been arrested seven times. He explained, “Every time some problem comes up, they come and arrest his son.”

Mohammad Heidar is Ahmad Heidari’s brother says that his brother and 4 nephews were arrested on March 26^th this year and there has been no news about them since then. He added that the prisoners have no access to defense attorneys and that they were not engaged in political activities, while some could not even speak proper Persian. The only reason why they have been arrested he implied is that they participated in poetry gatherings at the time.