Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Over the past few days, security forces transported at least 20 residents of Dehdasht, Suq, and Charam — cities in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province — to an undisclosed location, for undisclosed reasons, and without producing an arrest warrant.

A local source told HRANA that Ministry of Intelligence Agents whisked away several local residents after completing unannounced searches of their homes. HRANA has so far been able to confirm the identities of four arrestees: Ali Sina Heidari, Zarir Hadipour, Farhang Khorshidi, and Persian literature teacher Bahram Sorkhabi (a.k.a. Poor Behzad).

A Dehdasht resident described the thickening of security forces across main transportation arteries of Dehsasht and Choram: “Agents of the Ministry of Intelligence, IRGC, and Basij have set up checkpoints along the main streets of the city, and along the roads leading to Souq, Yasuj, Behbahan, and Gachsaran.”

According to the Dehdasht source, the families of the 20 detained residents have thus far been met with silence from regional security and judicial authorities, who since the arrests of October 1st and 3rd have offered no information about their loved ones’ cases or well-being. “[The families] were threatened with prosecution if they publicly disclose information about the arrests,” the source said.

Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, a province of southwestern Iran, is comprised of Boyer-Ahmad (capital: Yasuj), Bahmai (capital: Likak), Dena (capital: Sisakht), Kohgiluyeh (capital: Dehdasht), Gachsaran (capital: Dogonbadan), Charam (capital: Charam), Basht (capital: Basht), and Landeh (capital: Landeh) counties.

HRANA will publish updates on this case as soon as they come available.