Ahmad Baldi, Arab student, dies after self-immolation in Ahvaz

Hengaw — Tuesday, November 11, 2025

Ahmad Baldi (Abdolsayedi), a 20-year-old Arab student from Ahvaz, died after nine days of hospitalisation following his self-immolation in protest against the demolition of his family’s stall by municipal and police forces.

According to information obtained by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Baldi died at Taleghani Hospital in Ahvaz after suffering severe burns. He had set himself on fire in protest when municipal officials and police demolished his family’s only source of income.

Baldi poured gasoline over himself and set himself on fire on Sunday, November 2, 2025, after agents of the Ahvaz Municipality’s enforcement unit destroyed the family stall. He sustained burns to about 70 percent of his body and was taken to Taleghani Hospital, where he remained in critical condition until his death.

Earlier, Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported that security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran surrounded Taleghani Hospital to prevent journalists and citizens from contacting Baldi’s family.

At the same time, the Ahvaz Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement threatening journalists and citizens that any reporting on the incident would be “punishable” and met with “no leniency.”

In relation to this case, security forces also arrested three Arab media activists from Ahvaz, identified as Hassan Salamat, Javad Saedi, and Seyed Sadegh Al-Boushokeh, for covering Baldi’s self-immolation.