ABC blog

The Baluch people are an ethnic and religious minority group residing in the southeastern regions of Iran. Though no official surveys of their population exist, several million Baluchs are estimated to live in Iran, with significant populations also in neighboring Pakistan and Afghanistan. Sistan & Baluchestan Province is commonly regarded as one of Iran’s poorest areas. Baluchs often face significant discrimination, rooted both in Iranian law and society. Below is an account from the Baluch Activists Campaign of a recent police altercation in which security forces shot a Baluch citizen and subsequently denied him medical care, resulting in his death.

According to a report by the Baluch Activists Campaign, on June 24, 2019, Zaman Malek Mohammadi, son of Azim Khan, was shot at directly and killed by Criminal Investigations officers and Police forces in the town of Jalaq in the Kahkan region.

A source with knowledge of the case stated: “Last night, Zaman Malek Mohammadi was a guest at the home of one of his friends when the agents surrounded the house. The owner of the house asked the officers to show a warrant for entering the premises.”

The source with knowledge of the case continued: “The agents did not show a warrant and instead started to curse, insult, and beat the owner. Hearing the ruckus, Zaman Malek Mohammadi came out of the house, at which time the officers started to fire at him without [asking] any question and [waiting for an] answer. Zaman Malek Mohammadi was shot by the Criminal Investigations Police officers.”

The source with knowledge of the case further stated: “The agents searched the house and did not find anything suspicious or illegal. They immediately put Zaman Malek Mohammadi in the back of the police car and took him to the police precinct instead of taking him to the hospital. They waited around there for about an hour and then called the emergency ambulance. Zaman Malek Mohammadi died on the way to the hospital.”

The source with knowledge of the case added: “The Criminal Investigations officers and the chief of the Jalaq Police precinct, Shahrokhi, were looking to frame Zaman Malek Mohammadi and to identify him as a person who had violated the law.”

It must be noted that, every year, tens of ethnic Baluch citizens are killed in police shootings and their families’ complaints bear no fruit.

See the original Persian report from Baluch Activists Campaign here.