The IRGC fired at protesters on September 30 in the city of Zahedan killing at least 100 and wounding many more when thousands of Baluchis protested the raping of a teenage girl by a senior police official, as well as the killing of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini at the hands of Tehran morality police.
Amini’s death on September 16, while in police custody, sparked a nationwide protest movement that began with protesting against the compulsory headscarf but soon morphed into an antigovernment protest, with chants echoing against the supreme leader Ali Khamenei and for the overthrow of the regime.
“Businesses in … Kermanshah, Sanandaj, Mariwan, Saqqez and Baneh are on complete strike to mark the 40th day of the victims of Zahedan resistance,” Hengaw Organization for Human Rights tweeted, adding that in some areas people have started blocking the roads.
Videos from Zahedan showed that businesses are on strike with a large gathering expected on Friday to remember the victims of two massacres committed in Zahedan and Khash by the security forces.
Iran’s judiciary announced that two members of a militant group were hanged in Zahedan on Wednesday, a move that Iran has used in the past to intimidate protesters.
The top Sunni cleric in Baluchestan region and the Sunni population in Iran have come under fierce attack by state media and IRGC-linked outlets for supporting protesters and criticizing authorities for committing the massacres in Zahedan and Khash.
Abdolhamid Ismaeezahi, the cleric that presides over the Makki mosque which is the main house of worship in Zahedan, has been a fierce critic of the Islamic Republic for killing protesters and has been threatened by a number of officials.
Iran has blamed the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia for being behind the protests but on Tuesday, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib threatened the UK with retaliation for hosting Iran International, a news outlet that has become a popular among Iranians to receive news about their country as the internet is severely restricted.
The channel announced on Monday that two of its British-Iranian reporters have been warned about “credible threats” to their lives in the UK. Other activists including Arsalan yarahmadi and Jila Mostajer from Hengaw said that they have been threatened by the authorities in Iran.
“Time and again Iranian authorities have acted with impunity in attempting to silence journalists around the world,” said Sherif Mansour, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) Middle East and North Africa program coordinator.
“U.K. authorities must ensure the safety of Iran International’s staff and send a message that threats to journalists on its soil will not be tolerated. Until foreign governments hold Iran accountable, this trend will only worsen, and journalists will continue to face unacceptable threats to their safety.”
Meanwhile Hengaw said on Wednesday that another protester wounded recently has succumbed to his injuries. Fayeq Mam Ghaderi, 35, died in a hospital in Urmia city after he was wounded severely on September 15 in Mahabad.
At least 304 people have been killed by the security forces as of Saturday, including at least 41 children across the country according to the latest tally by the Oslo based Iran Human Rights.
Kurdistan Human Rights Network said on Sunday that at least 53 protesters have been killed in the Kurdish areas while Hengaw Organization for Human Rights put the number at 61.
