Heidar Abbaszadeh
- Police Commander, Ilam Province (2010 - Jun 2012)
- Police commander, Bushehr Province (2012 - Aug 2017)
- Police Commander , Khuzestan Province (Aug 2017 - Sep 2020)
- Human Rights Violation: Killing and suppressing protesters (Nov 2019) read more
- Institution
- The Police (NAJA)
- Location
- (Khuzestan Province)
- Rights Violated
- Right to freedom of assembly, Right to life
- Description
As the police commander of Khuzestan province and a member of the provincial security council, Abbaszadeh is responsible for ordering the use of deadly weapons, by the forces under his command against the protesters in the November 2019 protests, that killed at least 100 protesters in Bandar Mahshahr alone, and injured hundreds of others. He was also responsible for the widespread detention of protesters.
- Sources
Shoot to Kill:Preliminary Findings of Justice For Iran’s Investigation into the November 2019 Protests, February 2020, p 13 https://justice4iran.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SHOOT-TO-KILL-Preliminary-Findings-of-Justice-for-Irans-Investigation-into-the-November-2019-Protests.pdf
“Special Report: Iran’s leader ordered crackdown on unrest - 'Do whatever it takes to end it'”, Reuters, 23 December 2019 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-protests-specialreport-idUSKBN1YR0QR
“Iran finally admits it shot and killed ‘rioters.’ But it still won’t say how many people died in last month’s protests”, Washington Post, December 2019 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/12/03/iran-finally-admits-it-shot-killed-rioters-it-still-wont-say-how-many-people-died-last-months-protests/
“Iran: Details released of 304 deaths during protests six months after security forces’ killing spree”, Amnesty International, 20 May 2020 https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/05/iran-details-released-of-304-deaths-during-protests-six-months-after-security-forces-killing-spree/
List of confirmed and unconfirmed names of victims and detainees of the November protests, Iranwire, 2019 https://iranwire.com/fa/features/34397
"4 Days of Suppression in Iran: What Do We Know About the Protest Victims?", IranWire, November 2019 https://iranwire.com/fa/features/34262
- Human Rights Violation: Killing and suppressing protesters (Nov 2019) read more
On 18 November 2020, the US Treasury Department added Abbaszadeh to its list of human rights sanctions for his involvement “in the killing of nearly 150 individuals in the city of Mahshahr as part of the Iranian regime's crackdown on the November 2019 protests." According to this decision, Abbaszadeh’s assets in the United States or in the control of American companies and banks have been frozen and he has been banned from entering the United States.