After 18 days of peaceful protests; Beating and arresting protesters in Saravan and transferring them to an unknown location by ambulance + Videos of the scene
29-April-2022
Category: Suppression
28-April-2022
Newsgroup: Suppression –
Breathing in Confinement: On April 28, 2022, Special Forces in Gilan Province. using tear gas and batons attacked the protesters in the village of Saravan, wounding some, and arresting some others. The violence erupted after 18 days of peaceful rallies of people in Saravan to prevent the transfer of garbage and waste to their village.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news organ of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, on April 28, in order to break their strike and crush their rally, the special forces in Gilan province attacked the people in Saravan village who had gathered to block the route and prevent the transfer of waste and garbage to their village. Police beat the protesters and fired tear gases, injuring a number of protesters and detaining some others.
According to the reports from people in Saravan, police beat and detained a number of protesters, and transferred some of them to an unknown location by ambulance.
The social deputy of the Gilan Disciplinary Command confessed to the arrest of the protesters. He added: “Based on the decision of the Gilan Security Council and the order of the judiciary, the route of waste and garbage transfer to Saravan was reopened.” Majid Rasoulzadeh continued: “During the route reopening, some people who tried to abuse the rightful demand of the people and the existing condition, were arrested and detained.”
For more than two weeks, the residents of Saravan have been gathering to block the waste transfer route into their village and also to demand a proper solution to the problem of waste accumulation.
Waste and garbage from Rasht and 7 cities of Gilan have been pilled up in Saravan for about 38 years.
The height of the rubbish heap in this area has reached more than 90 meters.
The head of the Rasht Municipality Waste Management Organization had previously said that the daily disposal of waste and garbage in this area, produces an average of 5.30 to 6.30 liters of leachate per second which enters the groundwater aquifers.
The leachate causes many problems in nearby areas including the pollution of Anzali wetland, rivers, groundwater aquifers, and Caspian Sea; producing unpleasant odors; pollution of livestock and poultry feed; pollution of rice fields and orchards; and causing skin diseases.
“Our problem is not just the budget, but the mismanagement,” said Assadollah Abbasi, the governor of Gilan, on March 5, 2022.” From tomorrow, a jihadi movement must be launched to solve the problem of landfilling in the region,” he added.