Mohammad Masroor
- NAJA Special Units Commander, (Ardabil Province) (2013 - 19 Oct 2016)
- NAJA Special Units Commander, West Azerbaijan Province (19 Oct 2016 - 1 Oct 2019)
- NAJA Special Units Commander, East Azerbaijan Province (1 Oct 2019 - present)
- Human Rights Violation: Killing and suppressing protesters 2022-2023 (September 16, 2022 - March 2023) read more
- Location
- East Azerbaijan Province (East Azerbaijan Province)
- Rights Violated
- Right to freedom from torture, Right to freedom of assembly, Right to life
- Description
- Reza Faraji as the Commander of Special Unit in East Azerbijan Province, is responsible for ordering the use of deadly weapons against protesters by the forces under his command during the 2022-2023 protests. The 2022-23 protests began following the death of Mahsa (Gina) Amini on September 13, 2022, in the detention of the morality police of the Islamic Republic. These protests quickly spread across the country and are remembered as the largest revolutionary uprising against the government since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. The Iranian government responded to these protests with deadly violence. According to human rights organizations, the security forces of the Islamic Republic have killed at least 551 people, with a minimum of 68 of them being children.
- Sources
- The Killing of a Protester in Tabriz https://twitter.com/FattahiFarzad/status/1572662236216463361 Beating of Protester in Tabriz https://twitter.com/begoonah1/status/1572662890208837633 Violent arrest of a protester in Tabriz https://twitter.com/ManotoNews/status/1580895763999379459 Shooting at protesters https://twitter.com/FattahiFarzad/status/1583481618752507904 Video: Arrest of protest leader by female Special Unit in Tabriz. https://shorturl.at/rtwE8
- Human Rights Violation: Suppressing peaceful protesters (2019 - present) read more
- Location
- Tabriz (East Azerbaijan Province)
- Rights Violated
- Right to freedom of assembly
- Description
Mohammad Masroor, as NAJA Special Unit Commander of East Azarbaijan province and, was responsible for the violent suppression of peaceful protests in the city of Tabriz. At the behest of Masroor, security forces used brutal violence including tear gas, pepper spray, heavy beatings, to suppress peaceful protests including during nationwide protests in November 2019 and protests in Tabriz in solidarity with protesters against water shortage in Khuzestan in July 2021. 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 15 November, 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. According to Reuters at least 1500 were killed during the protests. Amnesty International, verified the identity of 304 protesters killed by the security forces. Peaceful protests against the water shortage in Khuzestan province started on July 15, 2021 and spread to different cities of this province and other provinces, including East Azarbaijan province. The protests were severely repressed by security forces, and by July 20, at least eight people had been killed by direct fire from security forces.
- Sources
Demonstrators in Iran's Tabriz Show Support For Protests In Khuzestan, Iran International, 24 July 2021
https://iranintl.com/en/iran/demonstrators-irans-tabriz-show-support-protests-khuzestan
Iran condemns U.N. criticism of deaths during protests in Khuzestan, Reuters, 24 July 2021
'At least 8 killed' in 2021 summer protests; Continuation of demonstrations and solidarity with Khuzestan in Lorestan and Isfahan, BBC Persian, 1 August 2021
https://www.bbc.com/persian/iran-57938942
Demonstrators in Iran's Tabriz support Khuzestan protests, AVA Today, 24 July 2021
https://avatoday.net/node/15143
Police Bikers Attack Tabriz protesters, BBC Farsi, 24 July 2021
https://www.bbc.com/persian/iran-57957418
Video: The Special Unit force attacks the pedestrians and citizens' cars in Tabriz, 24 July 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz2PtJ5fgPs
Video: The Special Unit forces attack protesters in Tabriz, 24 July 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz2xZ91POzA
- Human Rights Violation: Killing and suppressing protesters 2022-2023 (September 16, 2022 - March 2023) read more