Seyyed Abbas Hosseini
- Governor, Amol (Mazandaran Province) (15 Jan 2022 - present)
- Human Rights Violation: Killing and suppressing protesters (Sep 2022 - present) read more
- Institution
- Ministry of Interior
- Location
- (Mazandaran Province)
- Rights Violated
- Right to freedom of assembly, Right to freedom of expression, Right to life
- Description
Seyed Abbas Hosseini is responsible for the murder of at least two protesters, Ghazaleh Chalabi and Erfan Rezaei, during the 2022-2023 nationwide protests in Iran. Ordering the security forces under his command to use lethal force against protesters and arrest large number of them, Hosseini is directly responsible for violating the right to life and the right to freedom of assembly.
During a protest in Amol on September 21st, 2022, officers opened fire on protesters from the Governor’s office’s staircase. Ghazaleh Chalabi and Erfan Rezaei were shot dead in front of the Governor’s office.
In a video taken by Ghazaleh Chalabi, an armed man is seen shooting at protesters from the staircase of the Governor’s office. In another scene, while chanting slogans, Ghazaleh Chalabi falls to the ground after being shot in the forehead by a bullet. Erfan Rezaei was killed in the same place.
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
- Human Rights Violation: Killing and suppressing protesters (Sep 2022 - present) read more