In response to the beating of an Afghan teenager, Sayed Mahdi, by Iranian police, social media users have launched the campaign “Get Your Knee Off My Neck,” harshly criticizing Iran’s treatment of Afghan migrants.
Many users on platforms like X and Facebook addressed the Iranian police and citizens, stating, “Today we are displaced; tomorrow it could be you.”
They argue that Iran, which hosts the highest number of refugees after Afghanistan, should not engage in such “oppression.”
Seyed Mahdi, an Afghan teenager who is reportedly hearing impaired, was allegedly beaten and tortured by Iranian police on Monday, August 5, when he was to be detained for deportation to Afghanistan.
A video circulating on social media shows an Iranian police officer pinning Seyed Mahdi to the ground, pressing his knee into the boy’s neck, making it difficult for him to breathe.
Relatives of Seyed Mahdi released a video after the incident, stating that he is currently in a state of “shock.”
The incident has sparked widespread reactions on social media and among Afghan politicians and officials.
Mohammad Haneef Atmar, the former Afghan foreign minister, demanded that the Iranian government hold those responsible accountable. On X, he wrote, “We expect the new government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to investigate this situation, take appropriate measures to protect migrants, and legally pursue those who have committed these abuses.”
Nasir Ahmad Faiq, Afghanistan’s acting representative to the United Nations, also condemned the incident, calling the treatment of Seyed Mahdi by the Iranian police inhumane and un-Islamic.
This incident comes as Iran has intensified the “forced” deportation of Afghan migrants in recent months. Despite numerous statements from human rights organizations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration, urging neighboring countries to respect the human rights of migrants and international humanitarian laws, there has been no change in the stance of countries like Iran and Pakistan.
Additionally, some Afghan migrants in Iran have recently reported increased mistreatment by Iranian police and citizens. They claim that after the killing of an Iranian citizen in eastern Tehran, the police have intensified the arrest of Afghan migrants, and Iranian citizens have also been treating them poorly.
