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Iranwire – Iranian security forces fired tear gas, live rounds and pellets at protesters in the southeastern city of Zahedan, wounding at least 19 people, according to local reports.
The shooting took place near Makki Mosque on the eve of the first anniversary of Zahedan’s Bloody Friday, a tragedy that claimed the lives of more than 100 people, according to Haalvsh, a group that monitors rights violations in Sistan and Baluchistan province.
🎞️ Security forces firing teargas surrounded #Zahedan‘s Friday prayers mosque on the first anniversary of the Bloody Friday massacre. Protesters in Zahedan have continued demonstrating each Friday after weekly prayers since protests broke out across #Iran in September 2022.… pic.twitter.com/D7btnKBCTq— IranWire (@IranWireEnglish) September 29, 2023
It said that plainclothes forces and uniformed military personnel chanted “Allah Akbar” (God is Great) in Khayyam Street while they fired pellets toward the crowd.
Videos shared on social media show protesters throwing stones at the security forces.
Hundreds of Zahedan residents took to the streets around Makki Mosque, the largest Sunni mosque in Iran, after Friday prayers amid heightened security measures.
🎞️ On the first anniversary of the Bloody Friday massacre, protesters in #Zahedan took to the streets after Friday prayers, chanting anti-government slogans and holding pictures of massacre victims in which more than 100 people were killed.#truth #IranRevoIution #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/qkBFsVOhez— IranWire (@IranWireEnglish) September 29, 2023
The demonstrators chanted slogans against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and held placards with images of the victims of last year’s Bloody Friday.
Similar street demonstrations were held in the cities of Khash and Rask, also in Sistan and Baluchistan province, which is home to Iran’s Sunni Baluch minority of up to 2 million people.
Meanwhile, internet monitor Netblocks confirmed a “significant” disruption to internet connectivity in Zahedan, saying that “authorities have systematically shut down telecoms to suppress weekly anti-government protests.”
⚠️ Confirmed: Metrics show a significant to disruption to internet connectivity in Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchistan in #Iran, on the first anniversary of the “Bloody Friday” massacre; authorities have systematically shut down telecoms to suppress weekly anti-government protests 📉 pic.twitter.com/h5HBrShCo8— NetBlocks (@netblocks) September 29, 2023
Zahedan, the provincial capital, has seen protest rallies almost every Friday since September 30 of last year, when security forces killed 108 people, according to local human rights groups, the deadliest incident in the widespread demonstrations sparked by the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
Molavi Abdulhamid, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, has been a key dissenting voice inside Iran since the eruption of the nationwide protests, using his sermons to call for fundamental economic, social and political changes in the country.
In his latest sermon on September 29, Molavi reiterated that justice needs to be served for the Bloody Friday “crime” and deplored the judiciary’s lack of independence.
“We reached the anniversary of Bloody Friday. It was a deeply tragic event, not only for our own people but also for all those around the world who value…freedom,” the cleric said, adding: “Over 100 lives were lost and close to 300 people sustained injuries.”
He emphasized that the families of the victims are only demanding the application of Islamic law when calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
