Demonstrators clashed with security forces in Iran’s turbulent southeast to mark the anniversary of a brutal crackdown that occurred on September 30, 2022, known as “Bloody Friday.” These events were reported by human rights organizations and shared through social media videos.
Videos uploaded to the Z platform by the Iran Human Rights (IHR) group depicted protesters confronting security forces in Zahedan, the capital of the southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province. In the videos, apparent sounds of gunfire could be heard. IHR and the Baluch rights group Hal Vash reported at least 23 individuals injured. Reuters, however, could not independently verify the report or confirm the authenticity of the videos.
Contrary to these reports, Zahedan’s prosecutor stated that the city remained calm and that the videos showing injured individuals were old, as reported by the state news agency IRNA. The semi-official news agency Tasnim indicated that police had employed tear gas to disperse a small group of individuals who had gathered and were throwing rocks at security forces.
The crackdown that took place on September 30, 2022, resulted in the deaths of at least 66 people, according to Amnesty International. Authorities attributed the clashes to protesters who were reportedly incensed by the alleged rape of a girl from the Baluch ethnic minority by a police commander.
The internet monitoring organization Netblocks reported a “significant disruption” to internet access in Zahedan on Friday, suggesting that authorities had intentionally shut down telecommunications to suppress the weekly anti-government protests.
Molavi Abdolhamid, Iran’s prominent Sunni cleric and a long-standing critic of Tehran’s Shi’ite leadership, called for justice for the victims of the September 30 crackdown. He expressed the people’s demand for those responsible to be brought to Islamic justice but highlighted the lack of judicial independence in Iran, as noted in an online sermon.
Sistan-Baluchistan, which shares borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, stands as one of Iran’s most economically disadvantaged provinces and a critical route for drug trafficking. Human rights groups have long argued that the Baluch minority, estimated at up to 2 million people, has faced discrimination and repression over many decades. In response, Iran maintains that the region’s development and the resolution of its issues are a “serious matter” for the government.
Zahedan has also been a focal point for weekly protests since the nationwide unrest sparked last year by the death of a young Kurdish woman in the custody of morality police, events that reverberated throughout the Islamic Republic.
