The Alahwazi Organization for Human Rights(A.O.H.R) expresses its deep concern over the wave of arbitrary arrests carried out by Iranian authorities in Ahwaz, targeting more than two hundred (200) citizens.

This wave of arrests coincided with the Iranian–Israeli war and the imposition of a heightened security state in Ahwazi cities, aimed at intimidating the Ahwazi population and instilling fear to prevent any peaceful popular movement against the aggressive policies of the Iranian authorities in the region.

The timing of these arrests — which targeted several Ahwazi cities (Ahwaz capital, Falahiyeh, Toster, Susa, Mohammareh, Abadan, Ma’shour, and Salehieh) — indicates that the Iranian authorities are using the Israeli attack as a pretext to level charges of espionage, collaboration, and spreading false information against civil society activists and political dissidents. This is a clear attempt to intimidate the Ahwazi street and suppress any peaceful opposition to the regime’s repressive and discriminatory practices.

The Iranian authorities, through Prosecutor General Amir Khalafian, have admitted to arresting no fewer than 120 Ahwazis in northern Al-Ahwaz ( In Persian Khuzestan). In addition, more than 80 citizens were arrested in Bushehr, Hormozgan (Bandar Abbas), and Ilam provinces.

The Prosecutor General further claimed that all the detainees confessed to spying for Israel and to spreading news that undermines Iranian national security. He also revealed that the Revolutionary Court had issued harsh sentences against 23 of them, without providing any details on the nature of these sentences.ا

The Alahwazi Organization for Human Rights(A.O.H.R) asserts that the charges presented by the Prosecutor General and Iranian intelligence agencies against the detainees are fabricated and entirely baseless. The so-called “confessions” were extracted under physical and psychological torture — a blatant violation of international and humanitarian laws that strongly condemn the use of torture to extract confessions.

Since the Israeli attack on Iran, Iranian intelligence under the Revolutionary Guard has admitted to arresting more than 705 citizens across the country. It is likely that the real number is significantly higher, especially amid reports indicating that the arrest campaign is ongoing on a daily basis.

In this context, the Iranian judiciary (an institution of the Revolutionary Guard) announced, through its official spokesperson Asghar Jahangir, that the judiciary would deal firmly with what he called “spies and mercenaries.” This statement underscores the lack of independence and transparency within the Iranian judicial system.

The Alahwazi Organization for Human Rights(A.O.H.R) strongly condemns the campaign of arbitrary arrests that has affected hundreds of citizens, as well as the sentences issued against them without any fair, transparent, independent, or public trials.

The organization (A.O.H.R)urgently calls on independent international human rights organizations, both governmental and non-governmental — especially the United Nations Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch — to take immediate action to save the lives of the detainees and reveal the locations of their detention.

Alahwazi Organization for Human Rights(A.O.H.R)