At Least 82 Killed by Iranian Security Forces in Zahedan After Shia Commander Raped A 15-year-old Baloch girl
At least 82 people, including children, have been killed by Iranian security forces in the city of Zahedan in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province since protests erupted there on September 30, Amnesty International said on Thursday. The protests in Zahedan were triggered by anger over the rape of a 15-year-old Baloch girl by a Shia commander in a police station.
Amnesty said that security forces fired “live ammunition, metal pellets and teargas” at protesters, bystanders, and worshippers when a group of people gathered to protest outside a police station after Friday prayers on September 30 in Zahedan.
Amnesty said since then, 16 people have been killed in separate incidents in Zahedan amid an ongoing clampdown on protests, warning the real toll is likely to be even higher.
Amnesty’s death toll for Zahedan comes after Human Rights Watch said that at least 154 people, including nine children, have been killed over the last 18 days during protests in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was detained for improperly wearing a hijab.
