Khuzestan protests, “thirsty uprising,” entered their ninth day yesterday, July 23. People in most cities of Khuzestan took to the streets on Thursday, July 15, to protest the destructive environmental policies of the Islamic Republic, which have led to water shortages, wetlands drying up, dust storms, severe air pollution, forced migration, and many other problems. The “sacred” regime also took to the streets in response to these protests; by firing tear gas, with the special units and trained units of the IRGC in crushing demonstrations; with bullets and ammunition, heavy weapons and combat equipment. In the media, the Islamic government came to the fore with lies and propaganda, with the IRGC news agencies, with Fars and Tasnim, with official and semi-official media, affiliated and dependent, governmental and against people. In cyberspace, the regime appeared on the field with disruption of the Internet. From the first day of the protests, the regime’s cyber army had a clear mission: to counter news coverage of the protests, to publish fake reports and images and videos, to attack civil activists and citizen journalists, and to defend the regime.
All this continued on the ninth day of the protests.
According to reports, people in Ahvaz and Mahshahr, despite the heat of nearly 122F, held protest rallies yesterday. In Shush, Masjid Soleiman, Susangerd, Izeh, Aligudarz and all the cities and areas that witnessed the protests in the previous days, there was an intense security presence.
The Internet in these areas, as in previous days, was either cut off or slowed down significantly. Reporters Without Borders condemned the regime’s restrictions on information networks and even censorship.
The videos shared on social media show the continuation of public rallies in support of the people of Khuzestan in other cities and provinces.
In a report published this morning, HRANA, human rights activists news agency, announced the arrest of 102 citizens during the protests of the past few days, mentioning their identities. In addition to the identities of the detained citizens, this report also published a map of the geographical distribution of the detainees: Ramshir, Alavi alley (Hay al-Thawra, Ahvaz), Chamran, Susangard, Alhaee, Lordegan, Shaour, Goldasht alley in Ahvaz, Khorramshahr, Bostan and Hamidiyeh. The list published by HRANA also includes the names of several children:
Ayoub Abboud al-Nomum, 12, arrested in Shaour, July 22,
Milad Obaidavi, 14, arrested on July 19 in Bostan,
Mansour Jalali, 17, arrested on July 20 in the city of Susangard
Razi Dahimavi, son of Abdul Zahra, who was arrested by police in Hamidiyeh on July 21, along with his son.
In addition to Amnesty International’s statement condemning the use of war weapons against protesters, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet also issued a statement yesterday condemning the Islamic Republic’s crackdown on protesters in the “catastrophic situation in Khuzestan today” and the use of violence against protesters. Bachelet warned the Islamic government that instead of suppressing the protesting people of Khuzestan, it is better for the regime to address the water crisis in the province.
The regime’s horror of the solidarity of the Iranian people and different ethnic groups with their Khuzestani compatriots is revealed where three Tehran residents are arrested and transferred to the Greater Tehran Prison just for an invitation of support for Khuzestan on their personal Instagram accounts: Mohammad Niazi, Omid Saeedi and Mostafa Arfai, three citizens living on Saveh Road in Tehran, were arrested on Friday, July 23, just for expressing support for their Khuzestani compatriots. These detentions, however, could not prevent Saveh Road residents from expressing their support and solidarity with their protesting compatriots in Khuzestan:
Translation of this post by Sahar.
