Khalil Parsa (Death Threats, Failed Attempt)
Mr. Khalil Parsa was born in Herat and is married. He was a social activist and organized the network of civil institutions in Herat, Afghanistan. He had studied political science, and he was one of the founders of “The National Youth Movement of Afghanistan” in 2001. This organization sought to strengthen and bring about democracy and human rights in Afghanistan through voluntary group activities. Some of their activities included teaching about democracy and human rights in schools, question and answer sessions with representatives of the president, and elections oversight. Mr. Parsa was one of the founders of the “Supporting Organization for Afghanistan Civil Society” in 2012. This organization focuses on establishing democracy, strengthening civil society, and creating a network of effective civil organizations for documentation and litigation of human rights violations, particularly women’s rights, and dealing with corruption. On September 6, 2016, police in Shiraz, Iran announced that they had made an exhibition of their “discoveries” in the past 48 hours. This exhibition was meant to highlight the achievements of the local police. They had set up many booths, including illegal drugs, alcoholic beverages, and obscene films. There was also a booth titled “Arresting Foreign Nationals.” This booth was surrounded by a metal fence and a group of blindfolded Afghanistani illegal aliens were exhibited in it.
Pictures of this booth were published in online domains, provoking widespread reactions in Iran and Afghanistan. Authorities, including the Afghanistan Parliamentary Representative for Herat at the time, civil activists, and Afghanistani news media expressed disgust at what the police force of Shiraz had done, exhibiting human beings in a cage, and they decried this as “far removed from human and Islamic dignity.” Iranian authorities also reacted to the publication of this event. The Representative of Shiraz at the time declared this news incorrect and said, “These captives were not necessarily illegal aliens. They were mostly armed robbers and smugglers.” Montazer ol Mehdi, the governor of Shiraz Province at the time, stressed that the population of Shiraz wanted petty dealers of illegal drugs, armed robbers, regular robbers, etc., to be dealt with, and that “the police don’t care about the nationality of these people.”
On September 9, 2016, the Afghanistan Ministry for Immigration declared the police force of Shiraz had treated the Afghani refugees “inhumanely, offensively, and in violation of human dignity.” They asked the government of Iran to vigorously investigate this matter. The Iranian Embassy in Kabul issued a statement about this matter on September 10, 2016, criticizing “the dissemination of biased news” and announcing that these people had been citizens of different countries and were not necessarily Afghanistanis.
Mr. Parsa and a group of civil activists decided to hold demonstrations in front of the Iranian Consulate in Herat in reaction to this exhibition. When they contacted the local authorities to get a permit, the Iranian Consulate found out about it and sent a text message to Mr. Parsa. They said that the consulate would pursue this matter, and they asked him to cancel this gathering. Mr. Parsa replied to the consulate and encouraged them to pursue their complaint. However, he stressed that the activists also had a responsibility. They could not be silent, nor could they refrain from seeking justice in the event of such an egregious violation of human rights. He and his companions staged a demonstration in front of the Iranian Consulate on September 10.
The demonstrators in front of the Iranian Consulate did not shout slogans. They were carrying written signs and standing together. One of these signs said, “We do not want such a neighbor.” One of the participants in this demonstration held a sign that demanded rigorous pursuit by human rights organizations and public accountability from the “Iranian dictators.” Some of the participants were also critical of the response of the government of Afghanistan.
Mr. Parsa says that after the demonstration and its widespread reflection in international news, he received a threatening message from the Iranian representative, saying “What you did was not nice and [the Supreme Leader] was very saddened.” Even so, protests against the Shiraz exhibition continued in interviews with news agencies and in different gatherings.
At 6 PM on September 24, 2016, as Mr. Parsa was driving his own car back from a work meeting, he was fired upon by three people on a motorcycle. Mr. Parsa was hit with seven bullets and the assailants fled the scene of the attack. The locals took Mr. Parsa to a hospital in Herat. Due to the severity of his injuries the lack of facilities in the Herat hospital, he was taken to a hospital in India, where he was treated for six months. One of the bullets that hit Mr. Parsa entered his liver, the other one grazed his head, a few hit his hand, and one is lodged near his heart, which remains in his body to this day, due to the surgical risk of removing it. Afghanistani security organizations have told him he is still in danger of assassination. Therefore, after his treatment, he has not returned to Afghanistan.
Since the assassination attempt on Mr. Parsa, there have been sporadic news items about the arrest of suspects and about the follow up efforts of the security forces, but to date, there has been no clear verifiable news about the status of this case and about the perpetrators having been brought to trial.
According to Mr. Parsa, after this assassination attempt, the other civil activists in Herat were afraid for their safety and they cut down on their activities. Mr. Parsa moved to the United States with his family, after this event. He says that even after so many years, he has not been able to regain his mental health, he is now also physically weak, and he has lost the normal good life that he used to have. About being away from his country, he says, “They separated me from the place where I worked and lived and loved. No place is as good as the country you were born in. Even if you go to paradise you will not be as happy as you would have been in your own country…. In my country, I knew about the details of people’s lives. I felt responsible for them in Herat, which was my town too. I could no longer be with them or do anything for them. This bothered me and it still bothers me.” Mr. Parsa continues to work for human rights in Afghanistan.
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Sources: Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran interview with Khalil Parsa, September 13, 2022; Jomhour News, September 25, 2016; BBC, September 24, 2016; Student Journalists of Iran Club, September 13, 2016; Institute for War and Peace’s reporting about the role of young people in the unprecedented level of participation in Herat elections, April 24, 2014; Amnesty International report about the attack on civil rights activists in Afghanistan, August 24, 2019; Deutsche Welle, September 9, 2016; ISCA News, September 13, 2016.