Tragedy of the Self-Immolation and Death of Ahmad Baledi and the Repression of the Arab People and Activists of Iranian Arab
The political coalition Broad Solidarity for Freedom and Equality in Iran, with deep sorrow and anger, views the tragic self-immolation of Ahmad Baledi, a 20-year-old Ahwazi Arab student who set himself on fire in protest against the demolition of his family’s kiosk by the municipality of Ahvaz, and who unfortunately passed away on November 11, 2025, as a clear sign of the collapse of justice, human dignity, and the profound class and national inequalities in Iran under the rule of the Islamic Republic.
This horrific event is not an isolated incident; it is the silent scream of a generation exhausted by structural oppression, chronic poverty, national discrimination, and administrative injustice. Ahmad Baledi was a direct victim of discriminatory and degrading policies that for decades have been imposed on the Arab people of Khuzestan (the Ahwaz region), a people living on land rich in oil, yet themselves abandoned to poverty, unemployment, and total deprivation of rights.
We also strongly condemn the wave of arrests, threats, and media repression that followed this tragedy. Credible reports of the arrest of Ahwazi Arab journalists and activists, including Hassan Salamat, Javad Saedi, and Seyyed Sadegh Al-Boshoukeh, as well as the surrounding of the hospital and preventing people from contacting the family of Ahmad Baledi, clearly show that the regime, instead of answering for oppression and discrimination, seeks to censor the truth and criminalize the pain of the people.
But this repression does not stem from strength; it arises from fear and desperation, fear within a system incapable of responding even to the minimum needs of society. A regime that, in the midst of economic crisis, widespread poverty, and public discontent, well understands that even a small protest can ignite a larger uprising, just as in Tunisia, where the self, immolation of a young man led to a popular revolt. For this reason, the Islamic Republic, in constant fear of public reaction, attempts through broad media suppression and persecution of activists to prevent the expansion of social anger.
By accusing protesters of “ethnic sedition,” the judiciary and security forces in fact seek to hide the roots of structural discrimination and silence the voice of justice-seeking among the Arab people. We consider this approach to be a dangerous attempt to securitize civil and human demands.
The political coalition Comprehensive Solidarity for Freedom and Equality in Iran emphasizes:
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This tragedy once again revealed the anti-human and discriminatory nature of Iran’s theocratic regime. Truth-finding and accountability regarding the self-immolation of Ahmad Baledi are possible only through independent, people-centered mechanisms outside the will of repressive institutions. A regime that is itself the direct perpetrator of these injustices cannot be judge or respondent. We call on independent human rights organizations, free media, and freedom-seeking forces in Iran and worldwide to expose the truth and hold the perpetrators of this tragedy accountable before public conscience.
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All those arrested in connection with the media coverage of this event must be released unconditionally, and the family of Ahmad Baledi must receive full social, medical, and legal support.
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The international community, human rights institutions, and the United Nations must urgently address the institutionalized discrimination against the Arab people of Khuzestan (Ahwaz region) and hold the Iranian regime accountable for its international obligations regarding the rights of nationalities, social justice, and freedom of expression.
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We call on all political, civil, and cultural forces throughout Iran not to see this tragedy as a local issue. As long as national, class, and political oppression continues anywhere in the country, no people in Iran will be free.
The political coalition Comprehensive Solidarity for Freedom and Equality in Iran expresses full solidarity with the Arab people of Ahwaz and believes that the struggle for freedom, justice, and equality will succeed only when the voices of all the marginalized, from Khuzestan (Ahwaz) to Baluchestan, from Kurdistan to Tehran, merge into a single united cry.
The name of Ahmad Baledi will remain eternal in the memory of the justice-seeking peoples of Iran.
Down with the criminal regime of the Islamic Republic.
Victory to the revolutionary movement “Woman, Life, Freedom.”
November 12, 2025
Broad Solidarity for Freedom and Equality in Iran