Amid a widespread wave of arrests targeting Arab cultural and civil rights activists and artists across the Ahwaz region, reports received by the Karoon Human Rights Organization indicate that Mehdi Khaledi, an Ahwazi Arab filmmaker and cultural activist residing in Tostar (Shushtar), has been arrested.
According to information received, Mehdi Khaledi was arrested on the evening of Saturday, September 12, 2026 by forces of the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC Intelligence) and transferred to an undisclosed location. To date, no information is available regarding the charges against him or his exact place and conditions of detention.
The arrest comes amid a new wave of security raids and arrests targeting activists in various cities across Khuzestan Province in recent days. Among those detained are Mohammad Kaabi, also known as “Abu Idris,” a resident of Shush (Sūs), as well as Mehdi Naseri and Aref Naseri, two Ahwazi Arab civil and cultural activists, who were arrested by IRGC Intelligence.
It was previously reported that Mehdi Naseri and Aref Naseri had been subjected to pressure and arrested in connection with activities related to the anthem and epic song “From the Karoon to the Olive Tree,” which had been produced with official authorization from the Ahwaz Department of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Following its publication on YouTube, the song was removed after the intervention of IRGC Intelligence, while its singers, Hossein Ahwazi and Mehdi Zaeri, were also summoned and threatened.
The Karoon Human Rights Organization strongly condemns the arrest of Mehdi Khaledi and other cultural and civil activists. It considers these systematic measures a clear violation of freedom of expression and the fundamental rights of citizens, and calls for the immediate clarification of the charges against the detainees and their places of detention, access to legal counsel and family members, and the unconditional release of all those detained.
