- Iran has detained not less than 10 teenagers for celebrating a soccer match, rights activists say.
- The Hengaw Group for Human Rights stated it recognized not less than three of the teenagers by identify.
- Qatar beat Iran’s soccer staff within the AFC Asian Cup this month, knocking them out of the finals.
Iranian authorities have detained not less than 10 male youngsters for “expressing pleasure” in response to a latest loss from the nationwide soccer staff, a Norway-based human rights group stated on Monday.
The Hengaw Group for Human Rights, which focuses on rights points within the Kurdistan area, stated it recognized not less than three of the minors by identify.
Hengaw stated the newest incident that it knew of concerned a 17-year-old named Diako Behroojeh, who was “arrested by Iranian safety forces” on Wednesday.
The arrests have been linked to Iran’s 3-2 defeat to Qatar within the Asian Soccer Confederation’s Asian Cup, in a pivotal match that might have put the winner by way of to this yr’s finals. Qatar is internet hosting the match.
Hengaw stated these beneath 18 who have been arrested and accused of celebrating the end result of the match have been transferred to the Kermanshah Correction and Growth Middle,
Iranian safety forces have been cracking down on shows of dissent because the demise of 22-year-old Kurdish lady Mahsa Amini sparked nationwide protests in opposition to the strictly conservative Islamic authorities ruling the nation.
In the course of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, native human rights teams stated a 27-year-old Iranian man was shot lifeless by safety forces for celebrating Iran’s loss to the US, which resulted in its exit from the match.
Iranians bored with their authorities’s hardline rule generally have a good time the Iranian soccer staff’s losses as a defeat for his or her nation’s present nationwide id.
Some nationwide staff members have beforehand expressed help for the anti-government protests, although not overtly.
In January 2023, nationwide soccer participant Amir Nasr-Azadani was sentenced to 16 years in jail for “partaking in enmity in opposition to God,” which is broadly interpreted as being accused of collaborating within the protests.
