Iranian authorities opened fire on protests in Zahedan, marking one year since riot police shot and killed 100 people in an event known as “Bloody Friday.” The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) reported that 23 protesters were injured in the recent clashes, amongst them at least four children.
The term “Bloody Friday” refers to what is also known as the Zahedan massacre, which took place in the aftermath of the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini. Amini, a woman hailing from Iran’s Kurdistan region, was arrested in Tehran over her “improper” hijab. Her death sparked nationwide demonstrations against the government on grounds of human rights violations.
Despite stiff resistance from Iranian authorities, Zahedan has seen sustained protests every Friday since the massacre on September 30, 2022. Recent social media posts depict protesters carrying injured individuals to medics amidst gunfire, while others capture unarmed protesters fleeing tear gas deployed by authorities near a mosque.
Local rights groups report that the unrest is taking place against the backdrop of the persecution of Sunni Muslim clerics and other religious minority leaders. Sunni clerics have become a significant source of dissent against the methods of Iran’s Shia Muslim regime. They have been particularly vocal in their criticism of the government’s use of the death penalty and indiscriminate violence towards protesters.
While Iran has not responded to reports of violence against peaceful protestors on this particular Friday, they did release a statement through state-controlled media. The Intelligence Ministry claimed it had thwarted an assassination plot against Sunni clerics. According to the Ministry, the plot included plans for 30 simultaneous explosions throughout Tehran on the anniversary of “foreign-backed riots” in 2022. The Ministry announced that their agents had discovered 400 bombs, dozens of which were purportedly destined for religious gatherings across the nation. They alleged that the plot was an attempt to spread fear and chaos and exacerbate ethnic and religious divides within the country. In their statement, they once more claimed that Amini died from a medical condition, a claim that is the source of ongoing debate due to suspicions of police brutality.
This article is based on the report from JURIST – News.