Bahger Gholami, an Ahwazi activist, still missing 3 months after his arrest

 

 Bagher Gholami (Naami) was arrested in March 6/2016 for his religious activities by intelligence service agents in Ahwaz and is held in an undisclosed detention center.

He was accused of spreading Sunni Faith in Al-Ahwaz.  Mr. Bagher Gholami, who used to live in Ahwaz city, is married and has two children namely Isaaq and Salma(girl).

 

After abducting him in front of his house in Ahwaz by Iranian security forces in March 6/2016, at 5 pm,  the security forces at the same day have raided Mr. Gholami’s house.  In  the raid, which was carried out with no warrant; such behaviour is standard for the regime, Mr. Naami’s personal properties such as books and computer also have been confiscated by the regime security forces and Mr. Gholami was taken to an unknown detention place and since then his wife and his family members are  kept uninformed of his whereabout and wellbeing. His worried family has been seeking any information on his whereabouts since his arrest which is around three month, but the regime has refused to disclose anything, even his location. 

 

This is not the first time that Mr. Gholami(Naami) get arrested by the Iranian security forces as he was detained in February 2011, July 2012, December 2013 and recently 3 March 2016 with same accusations such as having religious thoughts and practices (Sunni), conspiring to commit crimes against national security, foreign relations with secessionist groups and propaganda against the regime.  As a result, he was sentenced to one-year imprisonment by the revolutionary court 2 of Ahwaz city. It is noted that the regime of Iran used to label all of its political dissidents including Ahwazi Arab activists to waging war against God or acting against national security which both carry harsh punishment such as long imprisonment or death penalty.

 

Iranian officials have been alarmed at the growing rate of Sunni conversion among Ahwazi Arabs in recent years, leading to more crackdowns from the Shia-led Iranian regime. The security and judicial authorities of Ahwaz tend to deploy further systematic, continuous arrest, imprisonment and exile of Sunni activists to intimidate and stop the rising movement of those believing in Sunni Islam in Al-Ahwaz. The Iranian authorities often wrongly accuse Ahwazi Arab Sunni preachers and activists of involvement in various incidents in an attempt to excuse their arrest

 Iranian authorities have stepped up their campaign of arrests and imprisonment of Ahwazi and other activists in recent months following escalating protests in Ahwaz and across the country, in a typically brutal effort to crush any movement for freedom and human rights.

 

karim Dahimi