After the bloody events in Zahedan, the center of the province of Sistan-Baluchistan, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, at the end of last month, which claimed dozens of lives, the Iranian authorities tried to defuse the situation by firing two security officials, including the chief of the city police.
Investigation at the request of the principal
The Sistan-Baluchistan Security Council announced the completion of its investigation into the events, which it conducted at the request of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, according to a statement released by the official IRNA news agency on Thursday evening.
He claimed that “after the end of Friday prayers for the Sunnis in the city of Zahedan on September 30, a group of people (more than 150 people) attacked police station No. 16 adjacent to the place of prayer, with the intention of controlling it,” reports AFP.
He also pointed out that “the proximity of the police station to the place of Friday prayers, the incomplete evacuation of the mosque and the resistance to shelling by the police forces, unfortunately, led to the injury and death of a number of citizens who were praying, and innocent pedestrians who were not involved. ” developments.
“Neglect”
In addition, he acknowledged the presence of “negligence on the part of some officers”, announcing the dismissal of “the head of police station No. 16 and the head of police Zahedan.”
He also promised to pay compensation to the families of the “victims” and take the case to court.
“Girl raped”
For their part, local figures indicated that tensions began after reports that a girl had been “raped” by a member of the provincial police and that security forces had “opened fire” on protesters near a mosque in Zahedan.
At the same time, the death toll of civilians reached 35 people, including “some worshipers in the mosque, who were killed at the first stage in the area of the police station, and who were killed by armed people.”
90 dead
And human rights organizations outside of Iran have previously indicated that the death toll in the clashes in Zahedan has exceeded 90.
It is noteworthy that Zahedan, located in the south-east of the country, witnessed the bloody events of September 30, during which dozens of people were killed, including six members of law enforcement agencies.
The tensions come as protests have been taking place in Iran since September 16 amid the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, three days after she was arrested by the vice police for not following Iran’s strict dress code.
