Balochistan: Social Activist Arrested After Exposing Reported Gang Rape of Schoolchildren in Pahrah
DOZZAAP (ZAHEDAN): Samad Regi, a social activist from the city of Pahrah (Iranshahr) in Iranian-occupied Balochistan (southeastern Iran), has been arrested by intelligence forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after publicly exposing multiple cases of gang rape involving schoolchildren.
His arrest comes just days after he called for accountability and transparency regarding the role of local forensic authorities in what he described as a deliberate cover-up.
According to the Baloch Activists Campaign, Regi was detained on the morning of Tuesday, October 7, at his workplace, the Central Branch of the National Bank on Imam Street.
Witnesses report that IRGC agents subsequently took him to his home, searched the premises and then transferred him to an undisclosed location. As of this report, his family has not been informed of his whereabouts or the charges against him.
Rigi had recently drawn national attention by revealing that several children in Pahrah had been victims of gang rape. He accused the Forensic Medicine Organization of Sistan and Baluchestan Province (Iranian-occupied Balochistan) of issuing what he called “false” medical reports, effectively enabling the perpetrators to escape prosecution.
“The forensic medical authority, through either an erroneous or deliberate opinion, has destroyed justice and encouraged the rapists to continue their crimes without fear,” Rigi wrote in a widely circulated social media post.
He further called for legal action and oversight, holding the provincial director of forensic medicine, Dr. Abdi, responsible and demanding an immediate investigation by the judiciary.
Investigations by the Baloch Activists Campaign have linked the assaults to 12th Bahman. 1st February 2022, Elementary School in Pahrah. The school’s staff had reportedly warned parents not to allow their children to walk to school alone. Administrators also informed local military forces about the incidents, but no official action was taken and despite these warnings, no protective measures were implemented.
Instead of launching an investigation, authorities responded to Regi’s public disclosures by arresting him, a move that has raised serious concerns among human rights organisations.
This is not the first time Regi has been targeted by the state. In February 2022, he was arrested after being summoned to the Revolutionary Court in Zahedan. That arrest followed a raid in September 2022 by military forces on his home village, Tump Regan, during which several civilians, including a woman, were shot and injured.
Regi later stated that the raid was in retaliation for his outspoken criticism of ongoing insecurity and violence in Pahrah.
As of now, there has been no official response from the judiciary, the Forensic Medicine Organization or the Governor’s Office of Balochistan (Iranian-occupied) regarding Regi’s allegations or his arrest.
Human rights observers warn that this case reflects a disturbing pattern in Iranian Occupied Balochistan: reports of sexual violence, particularly against children, are too often met not with justice or investigation, but with silence, intimidation and the arrest of whistleblowers, victims or their families.
