London: Amnesty International has strongly condemned the crackdown on worshipers and civilians by the Revolutionary Guards and security forces in Zahedan, Iran.
Human rights organization Amnesty International said in a statement that Iranian security forces carried out an operation against Baloch protesters after Friday prayers in the city of Zahedan in Sistan-Baluchistan province, in which 80 people, including children, were killed.
The armed personnel opened fire and shelled the civilians resulting in hundreds of injuries. According to eyewitnesses, the death toll is much higher, with most people shot in the chest, head and neck.
Amnesty described it as Bloody Friday, saying it was the bloodiest day in the recent wave of protests against the government that has been ongoing for three weeks over the death of a girl, Mehsa Amini, in Iran.
Amnesty Secretary-General Agence Collamard said the Iranian regime had grossly violated the sanctity of human life and proved that it would go to any lengths to preserve its power.
He said that even three years after the November 2019 protests in which hundreds of people died, the Iranian government is still using force mercilessly against the citizens. Amnesty International called on the United Nations to conduct an independent investigation into the serious crimes committed in Iran and to bring those involved to justice.
Iran's top military leadership has given all security forces, including the police, an open license to use force to crush anti-government protesters, Amnesty said.
It should be noted that there was a protest against the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl by an Iranian police officer across the country, including Zahedan, after Friday prayers, on which the Iranian forces opened fire.