A report has suggested that four Iranian artists were among the thousands of protesters who have been killed in the ongoing mass protests in Iran.
Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) is a non-profit advocacy group that seeks to provide emergency aid, shelter and resources to artists in dangerous situations, across the globe. On January 13, ARC released a report condemning the massive human rights violation going on in the country. They revealed that among those killed were sculptor Mehdi Salahshour, fashion designer Rubina Amenian, filmamker Javad Ganji, and hip-hop artist Soroush Soleimani.
A statement by Julie Trébault, executive director of ARC, read: “Iranian government forces have carried out widespread extrajudicial killings as a means of suppressing popular protests in the last two weeks, as Iranians protest across the country. With information being suppressed, it is difficult to assess how extensive the repression has been, but with the reports of these attacks on artists, it is clear that anyone can be targeted by the police and militia.”
Mehdi Salahshour was a celebrated sculptor who led a worshop at the University of Tehran and was a honorary member of the Visual Arts Development Institue. On January 8, he was reportedly shot and killed by police during protests at Mashhad. On January 9, Javad Ganji was similarly shot and killed during protests at Tehran. Actor-director Ahmad Abbasi was reportedly killed during the same protests. The Iranian film industry has also harshly condemned the violence by the government, including the Iranian Independent Filmmakers Association, and celebrated filmmakers like Jafar Panahi.
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The mass protests in Iran began last month. While it was triggered by the crashing of the local currency, it was caused by the dismal economic condition of the country, in part caused by the international sanctions. However, Ayatollah Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the country, dismissed these protests and ordered the law enforcement to bring order by “any means necessary”. It soon escalated in mass violence which has resulted in the death of thousands of civilians so far.
