Ahmad Baledi, a 20-year-old young man, died after setting himself on fire in protest against the demolition of his family’s food stall.
Iranian media reported that Ahmad Baledi, a 20-year-old student in Ahvaz, died after setting himself on fire in protest against the demolition of his family’s food stall by municipal authorities. He had been hospitalized at Taleghani Hospital in Ahvaz with 70% burns.
The state-run Mehr News Agency reported that the young man passed away on the morning of Tuesday, November 11, despite medical staff’s efforts to save his life.
Amir Khalafian, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Ahvaz, announced on November 10 the temporary arrest and subsequent release on bail of the city’s mayor and the head of municipal enforcement, as well as arrest warrants for three other individuals in connection with Baledi’s self-immolation.
Khalafian added: “Several individuals who sought to cause tension and unrest on social media have also been temporarily released on bail.”
The Karun Human Rights Organization earlier reported that on November 2, agents from District 3 of the Ahvaz municipality, accompanied by police officers, went to the food stall of Mojahed Baledi, the owner, in Zeytun Park and demolished it without prior notice or his presence.
At the time, Baledi’s wife and his student son were present and staged a sit-in inside the stall to prevent its demolition. Nevertheless, the officers continued the destruction.
According to the report, the deputy director of services of District 3 Municipality of Ahvaz violently grabbed Mojahed Baledi’s wife by the hand and threw her out of the stall.
Ahmad, in response to this “unjust behavior and violence against his mother and in protest of the injustice,” set himself on fire with gasoline in front of the officers.
The incident sparked widespread outrage on social media, where users shared his photos and denounced “the injustice and unlawful conduct of Ahvaz Municipality.”
Later, on the evening of November 6, a group of citizens and Baledi’s relatives gathered in front of Taleghani Hospital in Ahvaz to hold a protest.
Following this, three Ahvazi Arab civil and media activists—Hassan Salamat, Javad Saedi, and Sadegh Alboshoke—who had shared news about Baledi’s protest self-immolation, were arrested by security forces.
In recent years, numerous cases of self-immolation and suicide among Iranian workers have been reported due to dismissals, harsh working conditions, delayed or unpaid wages, and other hardships.
