New protests in southeast Iran as internet blocked

According to activists, demonstrators in southeast Iran took to the streets on Friday, raising anti-government slogans, despite intense security presence and the internet being blocked.

Footage sent by the Baloch Activists Campaign (BAC) on Telegram showed protesters raising slogans, including “Death to the dictator,” as they marched in the centre of Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan Province.

The province bordering Pakistan was one of the focal points of the protests that broke out in Iran in September.

At least 131 people have been killed in the crackdown on protests in the region, according to Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR).

Most of the deaths occurred on a single day in Zahedan on 30 September, dubbed “Bloody Friday,” when human rights groups accused security forces of indiscriminately opening fire at protesters.

The recent protests were fuelled by reports that a doctor was killed in police custody after his arrest in connection with the demonstrations.

Ebrahim Rigi was arrested in Zahedan last year but was released on bail, then summoned again to the police station, where he was detained and severely beaten by two police officers, according to the Hal Vash website, which monitors events in Sistan-Baluchestan province.

There was no immediate comment from Tehran, and AFP could not immediately confirm the reports.

The BAC and Hal Vash said there was an intense security presence in Zahedan on Friday, while worshippers tried to prevent security forces from entering the main mosque in the city before Friday prayer.

The footage, which AFP could not immediately verify, showed security forces beating a man dressed in traditional white clothing and then taking him away.

READ: Iran ranked as second worst in the world for internet freedom

NetBlocks, an NGO that monitors network security, reported “significant disruption to Internet connectivity” in Zahedan.

Sistan-Baluchestan and Zahedan are inhabited by members of the Sunni Baloch ethnicity, who are not of the dominant Shia sect in Iran.

Activists say the Baloch have been victims of years of discrimination and disproportionately targeted for executions.

Friday prayers at the Makki Grand Mosque were marked during the protest by outspoken sermons by the prominent Sunni cleric Molavi Abdolhamid, who supported the demonstrators and harshly criticised the authorities.

Some reports indicated that the internet blocking was intended to prevent people from following his sermons online.