The state police threw stones at a vehicle on Friday morning which caused a car crash, leaving two young Baluch men killed in Lirdof village in Hormozgan Province (southern Iran).
Locals say the driver, Ramin Gargij, 26, lost control of the vehicle when the state forces hit him in the head by stones. The driver and a passenger, Rashed Baluch, 25, sustained critical wounds and lost their lives on the way to hospital. Eyewitnesses say the state police threw stones at the car without any prior orders to stop and fled the scene when they found out that the car had overturned. Another witness said; “We staged a protest rally outside the checkpoint but the state police sprayed into our eyes and dispersed the crowd.”
More than 100 people, including innocent bystanders, are killed every year in anti-smuggling operations in Iran, according to human rights activists. All the while, most of the judiciary cases involving smuggled goods in Iran see those accused being acquitted to return to their corrupt activities. The widespread aspect of smuggled goods and currency in Iran confirms this reality that the “small smugglers,” who are constantly arrested and even killed by state police, are actually a very small piece of a very large puzzle.
