Iranian security launches widespread arrests of Arab activists in Ahvaz following the fall of Assad in Syria.

Human rights sources have reported that Iranian authorities arrested dozens of Arab poets and cultural activists in Ahvaz, southwestern Iran, in recent days. According to some local sources, these arrests were aimed at “spreading fear and intimidation in society” following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

The human rights website HRANA reported on Thursday, January 9, that dozens of citizens in the marshlands had been arrested, with the identities of 28 of them confirmed so far.

At the same time, the human rights organization Karun stated in a report that Iranian security forces have arrested around 30 Arab citizens from the cities of Ahvaz, Fallahiyeh, Ramshir, Testar, Muhammarah, and Khafajiyeh since late December.

According to the report, over 100 citizens were summoned during this period to detention centers affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard’s Intelligence (Media Center 114) and the Ministry of Intelligence (Media Center 113) in the marshland cities, where they were interrogated and threatened.

The Karun organization, which covers violations of Arab citizens’ rights in Iran, mentioned in its January 8 report that most detainees are cultural, civil, and media activists, as well as poets, with some involved in environmental activism.

These arrests were accompanied by the confiscation of detainees’ personal belongings, including mobile phones and computers. Local reports indicate that the families of the detainees are concerned about their conditions and whereabouts.

The detainees include:

Ahlam Abyat, Ahmad Jalali, Ahmad Khaledi, Ismail Heidari, Ayoub Kenani, Ayoub Tarfi, Ayoub Gheibipour, Jabar Tarfi, Jawad Heidari, Jawad Afri, Hussein Saeedi, Khaled Omouri, Reza Heidari, Reza Zohairi, Saeed Ismail Mazraa, Saeed Fallahi, Sadeq Mansouri, Ali Sowari, Ali Omouri, Ali Kroshet, Falak Omouri, Fouad Mousavi, Mohammad Heidari, Mohammad Omouri, Mohammad Ayashi, Mohammad Naseri, Mansour Jasemi, Milad Bahri, Hashem Mousavi, Yaseen Silawi, Youssef Saeedi, and Younes Gharbawi.

Additionally, Ahvazi Arab poets and civil activists Reza Hezbawi and Mostafa Heliji were transferred to Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz after over a month of severe torture at the “FATA” Cyber Police detention center. They are currently being held in the prison’s quarantine section.

The crackdown on civil and political activists has intensified since the start of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising in September 2022 and continues to this day.

Separately, on January 7, dozens of individuals were arrested in the city of Nosratabad, in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, by military and security forces. The Hal Vash website, which reports on news from Baluchistan, estimated the number of detainees to be at least 38 people.

Earlier, on January 2, the human rights website Hengaw reported the arrest of at least 123 individuals in the last month of 2024, noting that 88 of these detainees were Kurdish citizens.

Previously, on December 26, HRANA’s annual report stated that at least 2,783 citizens were arrested by security forces over the past year due to their political and civil activities.