Seven years after the bloody crackdown on the nationwide protests of November 2019, the fate of Amin Zamani Mohavi, a young Arab from Ahwaz who went missing during these protests, remains shrouded in uncertainty. The relentless and desperate inquiries of his family to security and judicial authorities have yielded no results.
According to reports received by the Karoon Human Rights Organization, Amin Zamani was last seen on November 26, 2019, in the ‘Kompolou South’ area (Kuy-e Enqelab) of Ahwaz.
He left home without any identification documents (national ID) or a mobile phone, intending to participate in the demonstrations. After entering the streets that were the epicenter of public protests at that time, he mysteriously disappeared.
After fruitless searches in the streets, hospitals, and morgues, Zamani’s family began their inquiries with security and judicial institutions. During these visits, a court staff member confirmed his arrest by checking Amin’s identity information and assured the family that he would be released if bail was posted. However, when the family, hopeful for their child’s release, visited Sheiban Prison in Ahwaz, prison officials completely denied his presence there.
An informed source regarding the family’s plight told the Karoon Human Rights Organization: ‘Over these seven years, they have knocked on every door, but judicial and security authorities only pass them from one to another. The court referred them to the prison, and the prison referred them to the IRGC intelligence. Security agencies have consistently provided contradictory answers; sometimes they said he was in IRGC detention, and at other times they outright denied his arrest.’
Amin Zamani Mohavi, son of Abdolhossein, was born on July 27, 1999, and was only 20 years old at the time of his disappearance. He held a high school diploma and resided in Kompolou, Ahwaz. Now, seven years after this tragic case of enforced disappearance, his family, who have not lost hope, are appealing to civil activists, released political prisoners, and any citizens who may have seen him in detention or witnessed his death during the protests for assistance.
The Karoon Human Rights Organization reminds that ‘enforced disappearance’ is a clear example of a crime against humanity and a gross violation of international law. The security and judicial authorities in Iran bear direct responsibility for the fate and life of Amin Zamani Mohavi and must put an end to the systematic concealment and manipulation of the families seeking justice.
