Kioumars Heydari
- Commander of Army’s Ground Forces HQ in South Western Iran (1998 - 2005)
- Coordinating Deputy of the Army’s Ground Forces (2005 - 2008)
- Deputy Commander of Army’s Ground Forces (2008 - 2016)
- Commander of Army Ground Forces (2016 - present)
- Human Rights Violation: Killing and suppressing protesters (November 2019) read more
- Institution
- Ground Force
- Location
- (National)
- Rights Violated
- Right to freedom of assembly, Right to life
- Description
Kioumars Heydari, as the commander of the army's ground forces, has been responsible for killing hundreds of protesters and injuring thousands across the country by ordering the use of force and firearms against protesters by forces under his command during the nationwide protests in November 2019.
On March 12, 2021, in an interview with the site for the preservation and publication of Ali Khamenei's works, Heydari explicitly confirmed the role of the army's ground forces in suppressing the protests and said: “We announced our readiness to Major General Bagheri, the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, and told him that the ground forces do not have a mission at the moment, but given the trained and loyal forces that we have, now is the best time for us to help the security forces of our country. Fortunately, he accepted, and we were able to make a significant impact on establishing security inside the troubled cities, and the report reached the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, who issued special orders in this regard."
Also, , on December 12, 2019, Hossein Ashtari, Chief Commander of the Police Force thanked the army for its role in suppressing the protests, in a meeting with Abdul Rahim Mousavi, Chief Commander of the Army,
The nationwide protests of 2019, known as the protests of November 2019, were a series of large-scale popular demonstrations against the Iranian government, which began on November 15, 2019 in protest of the tripling of gasoline prices and quickly turned into anti-government protests that spread to 29 provinces in more than 100 cities across the country. The protests were brutally suppressed by the security and military forces. According to Amnesty International, at least 304 people were killed in the protests.- Sources
Kiomars Heidari, Commander of the Ground Forces: The Army played an effective role in suppressing protests and unrest, Iran International, March 13, 2021
Interview with the Commander of the Army Ground Forces, The Office of Preservation and Publication of Ali Khamenei's works, March 12, 2021
https://farsi.khamenei.ir/others-dialog?id=47397
The commander of the police force thanked the "role of the army in managing the riots", Deutsche Welle, December 13, 2019
Shoot to Kill: Preliminary Findings of Justice for Iran’s Investigation into the November 2019 Protests, February 2020,
“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: 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/
"These people from the government, the IRGC and the army knew about the rise in gasoline prices" Khabaronline, 2019 https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/1327073/%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D8%AA-%D8%B3%D9%BE%D8%A7%D9%87-%D9%88-%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AA%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B2%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B2%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B4-%D9%82%DB%8C%D9%85%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%B2%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%B1
- Human Rights Violation: Killing and suppressing protesters (November 2019) read more