Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Omid, a memorial in defense of human rights in Iran
One Person’s Story

Zarbibi Esma'ilzehi

About

Age: 60
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Islam (Sunni)
Civil Status: Married

Case

Date of Killing: February 20, 2023
Location of Killing: Zahedan, Sistan Va Baluchestan Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Arbitrary shooting
Charges: Unspecified offense

About this Case

The story of Ms. Zarbibi Esma'ilzehi is not complete.  

To complete this story in Omid we need your help. Her biographical information as well as information regarding her killing will help us complete this page dedicated to Ms. Zarbibi Esma'ilzehi’s memory. 

By sharing this information, you will prevent the tragic killing of a human being from fading into oblivion; you will help us bring to light any abuse of his human rights; you will contribute a piece to the puzzle of Iran’s history of state violence that will be of the utmost importance for future justice and democratic reforms; and you will be part of a truth telling movement that aspires to the protection of every single citizen’s human rights in Iran.

Please share your information with the Omid Memorial and help us complete this victim’s story.

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Bloody Friday 

The city of Zahedan in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, and home to the ethnic and majority Sunni Baluch minority, was the scene of a massacre on Friday, September 30, 2022. The massacre, also known as Zahedan Bloody Friday, took place in the context of nationwide protests that followed the death in detention of Mahsa Jina Amini on September 16, 2022 and after the news of the rape of a 15-year old girl by the Police Chief in Rasak, which was confirmed by the local Friday sermon cleric, had sparked protests in Chabahar on September 27. The earlier protest had led to calls for further demonstrations across the Province on Friday September 30th “in solidarity with those who struggle across Iran’s geography and in Kurdistan,” and called for a transparent investigation of the rape and accountability by local clericsm including the Great Mosalla prayer complex, located near Zahedan’s Makki mosque.

Based on eyewitness testimonies, media, and human rights groups’ investigations of videos and photos of the event that took place on September 30, 2022, the shootings by armed security forces (including some in plain clothes), who were located on the roof of Police Station 16 across the Great Mosalla and surrounding roofs, began when a small group of unarmed worshipers emerged from the prayer complex around mid-day, before the end of the Friday prayer and walked toward the police station chanting anti-government slogans. In response, security forces fired live ammunition, metal pellets and tear gas at them and at bystanders while protesters threw stones at the police station.  Snipers also shot at worshipers in the Mosalla and its vicinity killing scores, including children and at least one female worshiper. According to medical professionals, many victims died from bullet wounds to the head, back of the head and neck, torso, heart, and stomach. Following the shootings, tension mounted in several other neighborhoods in Zahedan and the surrounding area, including around Maki mosque.  The authorities reported that three police stations had been attacked by protesters that day in Zahedan. In a statement issued on October 28, the Security Council of Sistan and Baluchestan province claimed that six security force members and 35 other people including worshipers and bystanders had been killed, and falsely accused protesters of having attacked the police station with stones and firearms. Additionally, the statement announced that the head of Police Station Number 16 and the head of police in Zahedan were dismissed because of their fatal “negligence”. As of October, the number of people killed during Zahedan’s Bloody Friday or died from their injuries in the following days and weeks has been estimated between 66 and 97 and hundreds were wounded.

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