Iran cracks down on Turkmen minority

Hundreds of ethnic Turkmen have been deported by Iranian authorities since a Turkmen fisherman was killed by Iranian maritime security officers in December, Voice of America reported on February 14. The deportations have raised concern among international human rights organizations.

The fisherman, Husamettin Khadivar, was fishing without a license when he was killed.

Abdulgafur Setaesh, Director of the Center for Human Rights of Turkmenstan of Iran, said friends and relatives of Khadivar protested the killing to Iranian military authorities.

“After two days of mourning, four-hundred or five-hundred people goes to Chapaqli military center [base] and asks why? This is an eighteen-year-old young person. Why did you kill him? Now his family is without any food. Here, as usual, they [Iranian authorities] started to hit people,” he said.

Amnesty International reported that dozens of Turkmen protesters were injured and at least two hundred were arrested.

There are approximately 1.3 million ethnic Turkmen in Iran, representing about two percent of Iran’s population.

For the full article, click here.

To read more about ethnic Turkmen in Iran, click here.