Two Arab civil activists, including a woman, arrested in Ahvaz and Shadegan

Hengaw: Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Milad Bahri and Ahlam Bandar, Arab civil and cultural activists, were arrested by the security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the cities of Shadegan and Ahvaz in Khuzestan Province, respectively.

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, Milad Bahri, a 34-year-old civil activist and social photographer, was arrested at his home in Shadegan, and Ahlam Bandar, a cultural activist, was detained in Ahvaz.

The Karun Human Rights Organization, which covers news related to Arabs in Iran, reported that Milad Bahri was beaten in front of his family members during the arrest. This incident has raised serious concerns about his safety in detention.

Milad Bahri, a well-known civil activist, has a long history of advocacy in areas such as environmental issues, child labor, and marginalized communities in Khuzestan Province.

In addition, the Instagram account and website of Ahlam Bandar were blocked and taken down by the security agencies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

She was employed at a bookstore in the Lashkarabad neighborhood of Ahvaz, where books in the Arabic language were sold.

Milad Bahri had previously been arrested by security forces in Shadegan on May 15, 2019, and was temporarily released on bail from Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz on June 24, 2019. He was also detained for a period during the nationwide protests in November 2019.

Bahri, who began his career as a photojournalist in 2012, won the award for the best photographer in the province twice, in 2016 and 2017.

As of the time of this report, there is no precise information about the reasons for their arrests, the charges against them, their fate, or their place of detention.