Arrest of a Baloch civil activist by Intelligence Agency forces in Iranshahr

According to Hale Vash, on Tuesday, October 15, 2021, plainclothes security forces affiliated with the Intelligence Department in the city of Iranshahr arrested a Baloch social and civil activist at his workplace in a bank in the city.

According to current sources, after arresting this civil activist, the officers took him to his private home and entered the house without presenting any judicial warrant. They searched the house thoroughly, confiscated the family members' cell phones and some of their personal belongings, and then transferred the arrested person to the Iranshahr Intelligence Department.

The identity of this civil activist is Samad Rigi from Iranshahr. He was previously arrested on February 16, 1402, for publishing critical articles about the security situation in Iranshahr and sentenced to three years in prison by the Zahedan Revolutionary Court. He was released from Zahedan Prison last year after completing his sentence.

According to informed sources, Samad Rigi had criticized the performance of official institutions, especially the forensic medicine and the judiciary, in recent days by publishing articles about the rape of several children in Iranshahr, and called for serious follow-up and punishment of the perpetrators. He emphasized in his writings that the negligence of the responsible institutions had caused the victims' families to refrain from filing complaints and disclosures.

However, the exact charges and whereabouts of Samad Rigi are unknown at the time of writing this report.

This arrest took place at a time when security agencies in Balochistan, instead of addressing crimes and social harms, including rape, are trying to suppress and silence the atmosphere of demands and social criticism by increasing pressure and threats against civil activists.