28.05.2008 - Source: Amnesty International

Unfair trails and executions in connection with bomb explosions in Khuzestan in 2005; protests against the alleged policy for the reduction of the Arab population in Khuzestan ("Annual Report 2008") [ID 23406]

"At least eight Iranian Ahwazi Arabs were executed after being convicted in connection with bomb explosions in Khuzestan in 2005. At least 17 other Iranian Arabs were believed to be facing execution after unfair trials related to the bombings.

Scores, possibly hundreds, of Ahwazi Arabs were reportedly arrested in April, in advance of the anniversary of riots in 2005 protesting against a letter allegedly written by a presidential adviser, who denied its authenticity, which set out policies for the reduction of the Arab population of Khuzestan."

Document(s): Open document

28.05.2008 - Source: Amnesty International

Repression continues of Iran’s Arab minority ("Annual Report 2008") [ID 24710]

"At least eight Iranian Ahwazi Arabs were executed after being convicted in connection with bomb explosions in Khuzestan in 2005. At least 17 other Iranian Arabs were believed to be facing execution after unfair trials related to the bombings.

Scores, possibly hundreds, of Ahwazi Arabs were reportedly arrested in April, in advance of the anniversary of riots in 2005 protesting against a letter allegedly written by a presidential adviser, who denied its authenticity, which set out policies for the reduction of the Arab population of Khuzestan."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Khuzestan province: 11 Ahvazi Arabs executed by the government in connection with bombings in that province in 2005 and 2006; according to NGOs and human rights groups, they did not receive fair trails ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22731]

"During the year the government executed at least 11 Ahvazi Arabs in Khuzestan province in connection with bombings in that province in 2005 and 2006. NGOs and human rights groups outside the country condemned the executions, stating that the accused did not receive fair trials.

On January 10, three UN independent experts released a joint statement condemning the executions. Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions; Leandro Despouy, the UNSR on the independence of judges and lawyers; and Manfred Nowak, the UNSR on torture, jointly called on the government to halt the imminent executions of seven Ahvazi Arabs and grant them fair and public hearings.

The UNSRs alleged that authorities used torture to extract the confessions of the accused, and that defense lawyers were not allowed access to the accused during trial and were themselves threatened with charges of "acting against national security." It was not known if all seven were executed at year's end."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Death sentence for 6 Ahvazi Arabs after reportedly unfair trails ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22872]

"The government also continued to sentence individuals to execution after reportedly unfair trials. During the year six Ahvazi Arabs were scheduled for execution after trials not considered fair, one of whom was granted refugee status by UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Discrimination against Ahvazi Arabs ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23200]

"In general the government did not discriminate on the basis of race, disability, or social status; however, it did discriminate on the basis of religion, gender, and ethnicity. It consistently denied minorities their constitutional right to study and use their language in schools, particularly Kurds, Azeris, and Ahvazi Arabs. [...]"

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Despite equality under public law minority groups are not always allowed to use their respective language in schools ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23322]

"The constitution grants equal rights to all ethnic minorities and allows for minority languages to be used in the media and schools. [...]

In practice, however, the government did not always permit minority groups, such as Azeris, Kurds, and Ahvazi Arabs, to use their respective languages in schools."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Bombings and violence in the province of Khuzestan: Arabs suffer from persecution and discrimination; alleged torture and ill-treatment of Arab activists, including detention of spouses and young children of activists ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23326]

"Foreign representatives of the Ahvazi Arabs of Khuzestan claimed their community of two to four million in the southwest section of the country suffered from persecution and discrimination, including the lack of freedom to study and speak Arabic.

In early 2006 there were several bombings in Khuzestan. The government blamed the violence on outside forces and foreign governments, although the revolutionary court later announced death sentences for at least 11 ethnic Arabs in connection with the bombings. [...]

Provincial authorities sentenced 19 Ahvazi Arabs to death in connection with the October 2005 and January and February 2006 bombings. Human rights groups have accused the government of torturing prisoners to extract confessions and unfair trial practices; they called on the government to retry at least 10 of the accused bombers.

Ahvazi and human rights groups alleged torture and ill-treatment of Ahvazi Arab activists, including detention of the spouses and young children of activists."

Document(s): Open document

06.02.2008 - Source: Amnesty International

Zamel Bawi, a member of the Iranian Arab minority, executed on 29 January 2008; he was accused of being “mohareb” (at enmity with God); furthermore he was convicted of hiding bombs ("Weitere Informationen zu Urgent Action 233/05 (MDE 13/051/2005, 9. September 2005, MDE 13/065/2005, 2. November 2005, MDE 13/033/2006, 31. März 2006 und MDE 13/072/2006, 23. Juni 2006) [MDE 13/034/2008; UA-233/2005-4]") [ID 23597]

Document(s): Open document

31.01.2008 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Discrimination of the Arab population in Iran (2007) ("World Report 2008") [ID 22519]

"The government increased its surveillance of the ethnic Arab population of Khuzistan after bombings in 2005 in this southwestern province. In 2006 Revolutionary Courts, whose secret proceedings did not meet international fair trial standards, condemned at least 16 Iranians of Arab origin to death on charges of armed activity against the state. In 2007 at least seven Iranian Arabs were executed in connection with the bombings after secret trials during which they were denied due process rights."

Document(s): Open document

31.01.2008 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Province of Khuzestan: After bombings in 2005 the government increased its surveillance of the ethnic Arab population; in 2007 several ethnic Arabs were condemned to death or executed in connection with the bombings; the proceedings did not meet international fair trial standards ("World Report 2008") [ID 23561]

"The government increased its surveillance of the ethnic Arab population of Khuzistan after bombings in 2005 in this southwestern province. In 2006 Revolutionary Courts, whose secret proceedings did not meet international fair trial standards, condemned at least 16 Iranians of Arab origin to death on charges of armed activity against the state. In 2007 at least seven Iranian Arabs were executed in connection with the bombings after secret trials during which they were denied due process rights."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Several bombings and social unrest in ethnic Arab majority province of Khuzestan ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19337]

"On January 24, according to domestic press reports, two bombs exploded in the city of Ahvaz, in the ethnic Arab majority province of Khuzestan, with as many as nine dead and 40 wounded. On January 28 and February 28, there were further bombings but no casualties reported. The violence came amid social unrest that began with the April 2005 publication of a letter, claimed by the government to be a forgery, alleging government plans to reduce the percentage of the Ahvazi-Arab population in the province. The bombings follow similar bombings in June and October 2005.

Government officials initially blamed "foreign governments" for the bombings, but on June 8, the revolutionary court in Khuzestan announced death sentences for nine ethnic Arabs in connection with the bombings. On March 2, authorities executed Mehdi Nawaseri and Ali Afrawifor their involvement in the 2005 bombings. Afrawi was a minor at the time according to the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Amnesty International (AI). On November 9, authorities in Khuzestan confirmed the sentences of execution of an additional 10 ethnic Arabs in connection with the January and February bombings. All sentences were imposed following secret trials that the international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) said could not be considered to meet international standards (see section 1.e.). According to an AI report, three of the accused bombers were executed on December 19 in a Khuzestan provincial prison."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Arabs face discrimination in housing and land rights ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 21108]

"In June the UNSR for Adequate Housing reported rural properties, particularly those belonging to minorities, were expropriated for government use without fair compensation to the owners. In August 2005 the UNSR said that ethnic and religious minorities, nomadic groups, and women faced discrimination in housing and land rights, compounded by rising cost of housing. The Ahvazi representative in the previous Majles wrote a letter to then-president Khatami, complaining that Arab land was being bought at very low prices or even confiscated. [...]"

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

The Ahvazi Arab Human Rights Organisation claims arbitrary arrests, executions and extrajudical killings of Arabs ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 21110]

"The Ahvazi Human Rights Organization wrote a letter to the UN in November 2005, claiming arbitrary arrests and executions of Ahvazi Arabs, including a lynching by security forces and extrajudicial killings in Karoon prison. The group claimed that in November 2005 three thousand Ahvazis staged a peaceful demonstration; however, security forces responded with tear gas grenades, and two Arab youths drowned as a result. The group also claimed the government made mass arrests during a performance of a Ramadan play. Two persons arrested reportedly were sentenced to death."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Khuzestan: UNSR for Adequate Housing reported 200,000 to 250,000 Arabs were being displaced from their villages because of large development projects ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 21112]

"In August 2005 the UNSR for Adequate Housing reported 200,000 to 250,000 Arabs were being displaced from their villages because of large development projects in Khuzestan. Land compensation was inadequate--sometimes one-fortieth of market value. [...]"

Document(s): Open document

04.03.2007 - Source: Minority Rights Group International

Annual report on current situation of Sunni Arabs ("State of the World's Minorities 2007") [ID 22397]

"Sunni Arabs make up around 5 per cent of the Iranian population and are concentrated in the southwestern, oil-rich province of Khuzistan along the Iraqi border.

Over 2006, sectarian civil war in Iraq has led to enhanced calls for Sunni Arab autonomy within Iran, and even independence. Human Rights Watch reported rioting in April 2005 among Sunni Arabs in Khuzistan following a purported letter from a presidential adviser that recommended dispersal of the Arab population.

The violence between protesters and police was followed by a series of bombings attributed to Sunni Arab activists in Tehran and Ahwaz in June and October 2005, and January 2006, which killed some 20 people and injured many more. Renewed confrontation between Sunni Arab protesters and Iranian police in March 2006 resulted in three deaths and hundreds of arrests."

Document(s): Open document

23.05.2006 - Source: Amnesty International

31 Arabs killed and hundreds injured during clashes with the police after demonstrations in April 2005; bomb attacks and waves of arrests followed throughout the year ("Annual Report 2006") [ID 18813]

"In April [2005], at least 31 Arabs were killed and hundreds injured during clashes with the police following demonstrations in Ahvaz and elsewhere in Khuzestan province. Hundreds of other people were detained. The demonstrators were protesting against a letter allegedly written by a presidential adviser, who denied its authenticity, which set out policies for the reduction of the Arab population of Khuzestan. Waves of arrests continued throughout the year, particularly following bomb explosions in Ahvaz in June and October and attacks on oil installations in September and October.

At least 81 people were arrested in November while attending an Arab cultural gathering called Mahabis. Those arrested included Zahra Nasser-Torfi, director of the Ahwaz al-Amjad cultural centre, who was reportedly tortured in detention, including with beatings and threats of execution, rape and other sexual abuse, before being released on bail to await trial."

Document(s): Open document

23.09.2005 - Source: Amnesty International

Ahvaz: Members of Iran's Arab minority reportedly detained; they are being held incommunicado at unknown locations and are reportedly at risk of torture or ill-treatment ("Iran - UA 252/05") [#37023],  [ID 8766]

Document(s): Open document
Open document

09.09.2005 - Source: Amnesty International

9 members of Iran's Arab minority, are reportedly held incommunicado at unknown locations; they are at risk of torture or ill-treatment; they may be facing charges of having contact with dissident organizations operating abroad ("Iran - UA 233/05") [#36434],  [ID 8767]

Document(s): Open document
Open document

26.08.2005 - Source: Amnesty International

39 members of Iran's Arab minority arrested in different parts of the country; they may be held in incommunicado detention and could be at risk of torture or ill-treatment ("Iran - UA 222/05") [#36036],  [ID 8768]

Document(s): Open document
Open document

27.07.2005 - Source: BBC News

At least 12 people arrested by police in connection with fresh protests in Khuzestan; unrest was sparked when people took to streets because local thieves took advance payments and then failed to deliver any goods ("Iran clamps down on Arab protests") [#34552],  [ID 8769]

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2005 - Source: UN Human Rights Council (formerly UN Commission on Human Rights)

Written statement by the Transnational Radical Party (TRP) on the right of Ahwazi Arab people to self-determination ("The right of peoples to self-determination and its application to peoples under colonial or alien domination or foreign occupation [E/CN.4/2005/NGO/260]") [#30294],  [ID 8770]

Document(s): Open document

28.02.2005 - Source: US Department of State

Discrimination of Arabs ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2004") [#29525],  [ID 8771]

"[...]Foreign representatives of the Ahwazi Arabs of Khuzistan, whose numbers could range as high as 4 million or more, claimed that their community in the southwest of the country suffered from discrimination, including the right to study and speak Arabic. In July 2003, authorities reportedly closed two bilingual Arabic/Farsi newspapers and imprisoned scores of political activists. They asserted that the Government ignored their appeals to de-mine the vast stretches of Khuzistan, mined during the Iran-Iraq War. They further stated that many Arabs, both Shi'a and Sunni, have been imprisoned and tortured for criticizing government policies. According to Ahwazi sources, a political activist with the Islamic Wafagh Party, Kazem Mojaddam, was sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment in November 2003 after his initial arrest in June 2003 on charges of secession and endangering internal security. [...]"

Document(s): Open document

28.02.2005 - Source: US Department of State

Discrimination of ethnic minorities ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2004") [#29525],  [ID 8772]

"[...]In general, the Government did not discriminate on the basis of race, disability, language, or social status; however, it discriminated on the basis of religion, sex, and ethnicity. The poorest areas of the country are those inhabited by ethnic minorities, such as by the Baluchis in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, and by Arabs in the southwest. Much of the damage suffered by Khuzistan Province during the 8-year Iran-Iraq war has not been repaired; consequently, the quality of life of the largely Arab local population was degraded. Kurds, Azeris, and Ahvazi Arabs were not allowed to study their languages. [...]"

Document(s): Open document

09.2002 - Source:

University of Maryland - Minorities at Risk: Background Information ("00.09.2002 - University of Maryland - Minorities at Risk: Background Information") [ID 8774]

"Arabs have been present in Iran dating back 12 centuries. The main factor that differentiates them from Iran's Persian speaking majority is their racial distinction, and that they speak one of several dialects of Arabic (CULDIFX1/2 = 2). They live in the southern regions of Iran with the majority living in the province of Khuzestan while others live along the coast of the Persian Gulf; Iranian Arabs are also evenly split between urban and rural dwellers (REGIONAL = 1; GROUPCON = 3). Most of the Arabs living in Khuzestan are Shi'i Muslims and most of those living along the coast of the Persian Gulf are Sunni Muslims (RELIG1 = 4), with slightly more Sunni than Shi’a overall. Their affiliation of being Arab seems less decided by race than by whichever sect of Islam they practice (e.g., the Arab population of Khuzestan sided with Iran during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s).
While Sunnis are accorded "full respect" in the Iranian constitution, in practice and through social exclusion, Iranian Sunnis suffer discrimination. The Iranian government has barred the construction of a Sunni mosque in Tehran, and has moderately restricted public displays of the Sunni religion and culture (CULPO196-00 = 1; CULPO796-00 = 2). Despite these exclusionary practices, there is little documentary evidence suggesting contemporary aggressive repression against Iranian Arabs (REPXX00 = 0), outward protest or rebellion (PROT00 = 0; REB00 = 0), and clearly Shi’a Arabs are afforded full religious rights. The Arab Political Cultural Organization (APCO) was formed in 1979. It requested some concessions in April 1979 and was given the green light to form a provincial council with limited autonomy. Unrest occurred afterwards due to the presence of Revolutionary Guards, especially in the Khuzestani city of Khorramshahr. The unrest continued and escalated when the Arabs started bombing oil refineries and pipelines on "Black Wednesday" June 14, 1979. On April 30, 1980, they seized the Iranian embassy in London in order to free 91 Arabs imprisoned in Iran.
Both the urban and rural Arabs of Khuzestan are intermingled with the Persians, Turks and Lurs who also live in the province and often intermarry with them. Despite this, Iranian Arabs are regarded by themselves and by Iran's other ethnic groups as separate and distinct from non-Arabs. The government of Iraq, both before and after Iran's 1979 revolution, has accused Iran of discrimination against its Arab population. (Despite this, the Arab population of Khuzestan sided with Iran during the Iran-Iraq war). Outside of Khuzestan there is little ethnic solidarity among Iran's Arabs. The division between Shi'i and Sunni Muslims also hampers ethnic solidarity."

Document(s): 00.09.2002 - University of Maryland - Minorities at Risk: Background Information

09.2002 - Source:

University of Maryland - Minorities at Risk: Risk Assessment ("00.09.2002 - University of Maryland - Minorities at Risk: Risk Assessment") [ID 8775]

"With such a closed society, projecting the actual condition of Iranian Arabs is difficult. Nevertheless, President Khatemi’s moderate regime (in power since 1997) appears not to have singled out Arabs as a potential threat (unlike other Iranian ethnopolitical groups such as Bahai, Christians, or Kurds). Yet, because of the Iranian government ’s centralization policies, it appears unlikely that the Iranian Arab desire for a measure of autonomy will be recognized anytime soon. If moderate elements in Iran can hold off its sizable conservative challengers however, there is probably no immediate risk to Iran’s Arabs."

Document(s): 00.09.2002 - University of Maryland - Minorities at Risk: Risk Assessment

11.2001 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

11/2001 - ACCORD: At least one million Arabs, mainly Shi’a Muslims, live in Iran, primarily in Khuzestan and in the south ("7th European Country of Origin Information Seminar Berlin, 11 - 12 June 2001: Final Report - Iran") [#7661],  [ID 8776]

""At least one million Arabs, mainly Shi’a Muslims, live in Iran, primarily in Khuzestan
and in the south. The Sunni Arabs tend to live on the Gulf coastline. Attempts by the
Arabs of Khuzestan to gain autonomy in 1979 gave way to support for Iran during the
Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988. Many are employed in the agriculture and oil industries."20
An approved presidential candidate in this election, Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani,
who is from Ahwaz and speaks Arabic, is a symbol for the community. Like every other
group, however, Arabs do not openly express their ethnic identity. In terms of levels of
discrimination, there is some evidence of riots in Abadan that have been connected to
the fact that Khuzestan as a province has been neglected by the central government.
On a more general level, the question of regional and ethnic identity will come to the fore
in the second part of Khatami’s term. There have been death sentences, mainly against
people with ethnic background, although those convicted had been involved in violent
acts such as the bombing of offices and liaisons, etc."

Document(s): cois2001-irn.pdf