A century ago, the autonomous sheikhdom of Arabistan was absorbed by force into the Persian state. Today the Arabs of Ahwaz are Iran s most persecuted minority
LONDON: Amnesty International has urged Tehran to “immediately halt” plans to execute eight people, including four Ahwazi Arabs, and condemned the country’s “alarming rise” in executions of ethnic minority prisoners.
“The recent escalation in executions of Baluchis and Ahwazi Arabs raises serious concerns that the authorities are using the death penalty to sow fear among disadvantaged ethnic minorities, as well as the wider population,” said Diana Eltahawy, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty.
“The disproportionate use of the death penalty against Iran’s ethnic minorities epitomizes the entrenched discrimination and repression they have faced for decades.”
4 February 2021, 14:08 UTC
Iranian authorities must immediately halt any plans to execute four Baluchi and four Ahwazi Arab men amid an alarming rise in executions of ethnic minority prisoners in the past two months, Amnesty International said today. The international community, including UN human rights bodies and the EU must urgently intervene to save their lives.
“The recent escalation in executions of Baluchis and Ahwazi Arabs raises serious concerns that the authorities are using the death penalty to sow fear among disadvantaged ethnic minorities, as well as the wider population. The disproportionate use of the death penalty against Iran’s ethnic minorities epitomizes the entrenched discrimination and repression they have faced for decades,” said Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
Iran has executed yet another athlete for anti-regime political activism. On Thursday (January 28), prominent boxer and coach Ali Mutairi was executed in Sheiban prison, bringing the tally to three in just the last four months alone. The sentence was carried out amid allegations that Mutairi was severely tortured and forced to confess killing two government-backed Basij militia members in 2018.
The 30-year-old boxer was charged with moharebeh meaning war against god and corruption on Earth . That apart, Mutairi was also accused of being an ISIS member but his connection to the terrorist organization was never verified. The execution has been condemned by human rights activists and the United Nations.