Cultural Ahwazi activist arrested in Maashoor

PADMAZ – The Iranian security forces at 4 am on Sunday 20th DEC 2020, raided the home of Hossein zadeh Shaye (EShnawa), arrested him at his home in Koreh district of Maashoor (Mahshar) and transferred him to the detention center of the Iranian  Intelligence Office in Ahwaz.

At 4 am on Sunday 20th DEC, the security agents surrounded Hossein’s home by several vehicles, terrorizing his family, and arrested him using excessive violence. During the arrest, officers searched Zadeh Shayeh’s home and confiscated some of his personal belongings, including his cell phone, camera, and computer.

Ahwazi human rights activists stated that Mr. Zadeh Shaye had been involved in filming concerts and collaborating with cultural activists prior to his arrest, and had previously collaborated with Fatemeh Tamimi.

Fatemeh Tamimi, a female Ahwazi cultural activist, was arrested by security forces at her home in Chamran town of Maashoor city on Wednesday, December 9, 2020, and was recently released on bail. Tamimi collected stories, lullabies, and songs in Arabic and recorded oral history from villages.

According to human rights activists in Ahwaz, the reasons for the arrest and the charges against Hossein zadeh are not yet known.

Hossein zadeh Shaye (Eshnawa), 42, is from the Koreh (Taleghani) distrcit in Maashoor. Human rights activists have expressed grave concerns about his health in detention because he suffers from intestinal diseases, severe asthma, infections and kidney stones.

The news of the arrest of this Ahwazi cultural activist is published 10 days after his arrest. Ahwazi activists say one of the purposes of the overnight arrests, by Iran,  is to keep the detention of Ahwazi activists secret. Also, severe pressure on families and psychological warfare of the intelligence apparatus against families have been considered as one of the main reasons for not publishing news of arrests and human rights violations in Ahwaz.

Human Rights Section -PAMAZ