Saturday’s Iran Mini Report – Mar.31,2018

• Ahvaz protesters rally across new areas overnight

Demonstrations against Iranian regime in the city of Ahvaz in southwest Iran continued after midnight Friday following a segment aired by the Iranian state TV that ignored the Arab origins of the city, which is mostly Arab-populated.

• 11 women ill-treated and arbitrarily detained

Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action, condemning the arbitrary arrest and ill-treatment of 11 women from Gonabadi Dervish religious minority. The statement reads in part:At least 11 women from Iran’s Gonabadi Dervish religious minority have been arbitrarily detained in inhumane conditions, without access to their lawyers.

• Eight Prisoners Hanged on Drug Charges

According to the Baloch Activists Campaign, three prisoners were hanged at Zahedan Central Prison on Sunday March 12 on drug related charges. The prisoners have been identified as Yar Mohammad Reigi, Ismael Reigi, and Rahim Reigi. Dozens of the family members of these prisoners reportedly gathered outside the prison the night before their executions calling on the Iranian authorities to stop their execution sentences.

• Two women among the Arab Iranians arrested in Ahvaz

Thousands of women and men continued their protests in Khuzistan on Friday, March 30, 2018, against the state television program offending the Arab ethnic group residing in this oil-rich province in southwestern Iran. At least two women were identified among those arrested.

The peaceful protests took place in various cities and regions including Mahshahr, Shadegan and Ahvaz.

• Millions of Women ‘Illiterate’ In Iran

The head of Iran’s Literacy Movement Organization (ILMO) says nearly 2 million women across the country are illiterate.

Citing Ali Baqirzadeh, state-run Iran Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported, “Nearly 1,800,000 women still suffer from illiteracy across Iran.”

• Eight Iran Sufis On Hunger Strike, Claim Torture: Amnesty

(AFP) – Eight members of Iran’s Gonabadi Sufi minority are on hunger strike, Amnesty International said Friday, protesting alleged torture in prison after protests in which security forces members were killed.
“One of the men, Abbas Dehghan, has allegedly been threatened with his wife being raped in front of him if he does not ‘confess’,” the rights group said in a statement.