Fear Of More Revenge Executions In Balochistan By Iranian Government, Balochistan People Party

This kind of method of revenge killing by Iranian government has always been used in response to clashes with armed forces systematically.

On the 25th of October Zahedans public persecutor announced that he ordered execution of 16 Baloch political prisoners after an encounter between Mersad a paramilitary group and another armed group. In this encounter according to government news agencies 17 border security forces were killed.

In a revenge act regime executed 16 Baloch political prisoners, in Zahidan prison. Public persecutor Mohammad Marziyeh announced that 16 prisoner has been executed in response to the clashes between the border forces and armed groups. Mr. Marziyeh, emphasized that in coming days more people would be executed.
This kind of method of revenge killing by Iranian government has always been used in response to clashes with armed forces systematically.

After an explosion, in May 2010, near a Masque, three people were executed next morning in prison in Zahedan, The following is a quote from the BBC’s Persian language service: “Iranian Official News Agency (IRNA) has quoted a judge, whose name has not been disclosed, saying that the executed were not involved directly in the explosion but they had been arrested two days before the explosion occurred. However, the accused were interrogated and trialed the night between the 30 and 31 of May, and were executed immediately after being charged for facilitating the explosion [1]”.

After the presidential election in June 2009 and arrest of hundreds of demonstrators it was feared that demonstrators would be executed immediately to intimidate and terrorize people so they would not take part in demonstrations. The regime felt that the arrest and killing of people in Tehran would spark an internal and international outcry, in contrast to the execution of Baloch which is not even mentioned in the international media, and would fulfil its purpose to terrorize and prevent people from joining protests against the regime, in other parts of country.

To terrorize demonstrators in Tehran, 19 Baloch prisoners were executed after short trials in closed courts without having access to defence lawyers, in Zahedan, convicted among other crimes also as “Moharabeh” of “enmity against God”. IRNA quoted Ebrahim Hamidi, Chief Justice of Sistan and Balochistan, saying that 13 people were on trial charged for drug smuggling, hostage taking and rebellion against the government [2].
Change of president in Iran has not led to any change in reality in ground for people in Balochistan, extra judicial killings, execution arrest has continued. Yet in the recent months security forces has started using method of “enforced disappearance” more extensively, some peoples that have disappeared , their mutilated bodies have been found that shows sign of severe torture.

The regimes death squad abroad has also become more active since new president have come to power. Three Baloch political activists living in exile in Pakistan were assassinated by the Iranian regimes death squad recently.
The death penalty continues to be applied in political cases, where individuals are commonly accused of “enmity against God”. In August 2007, Amnesty International noted that a disproportionately large number of executions in Iran that year were of Baloch citizens (50 out of 166).

According to Amnesty, Iranian government: “was increasingly using the death penalty as a way of stemming unrest in areas with large ethnic minorities. Bomb attacks in the predominantly Arab province of Khuzestan and ethnic Baloch areas of Sistan-Baluchistan province in recent years were followed by a wave of often public executions. Some of the condemned men were shown on state television making “confessions” that are believed to have been extracted from them under torture or other duress.”2

ACTION REQUESTED
Based on the above, and on behalf of the Baloch people in Iran, BPP urges you to:
To stop execution of Baloch political prisoners and prisoner arrested on other charges.
Raise with the Tehran authorities the issue of the current critical situation of the Baloch people and other minorities in Iran who continue to see their basic human rights violated.
Call upon the Tehran authorities to immediately investigate the extrajudicial killings of civilian Baloch and other minorities living in Iran; and to take immediate measures to ensure that the enforced displacement of the Baloch people is halted.
It should free all political prisoners and people who have in any case committed crime under the countries law should be given a fair, free and open trial and access to defence lawyer.

Balochistan People Party
www.balochpeople.org
Sources:
[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2009/07/090701_alia_jonddollah_ rigi.shtml
[2] http://www.radiofar da.com/content/F7_Jundollah_ AbdolHamid_ Rigi/1767602. Html
[6] http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/iran-executions-send-chilling-message-2010-03-30