The arrest of two Sunni Arabs, Hossein Albou Obeid and Emad Mazraeh, has raised alarm amid ongoing crackdowns in Khuzestan Province. Both individuals were detained by Iranian security forces and transferred to undisclosed locations.
Hossein Albou Obeid, a 26-year-old Sunni religious activist from Shadegan, was arrested during a raid at his home on Sunday, January 12, 2025. The security forces reportedly entered without an arrest warrant and took him to an unknown location.
A few days earlier, on Thursday, January 9, 2025, Emad Mazraeh, a 30-year-old civil activist from Susangerd, was similarly detained after security forces forcibly entered his family home. No updates have been provided on his condition or whereabouts, despite five days passing since his arrest.
Reports from the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights indicate that both arrests were marked by excessive violence and intimidation. Security forces also conducted extensive searches of the homes, seizing personal belongings, including mobile phones, from the detainees and their families. The continued repression of Sunni Arabs in the region is a troubling sign of escalating political and religious persecution by the Iranian government.
