Sajjad Saadatnia, a “Shouti” trader from Sivan District, Ilam Province, was killed by direct gunfire from military forces.
According to Kolbarnews, on Saturday, November 23, 2024, military forces targeted a Shouti vehicle on the Khorramabad-Boroujerd road, suspecting it of carrying smuggled goods. The gunfire resulted in the death of the vehicle’s driver, identified as Sajjad Saadatnia, a 36-year-old resident of Mishkhas village in Sivan District, Ilam Province.
The report states that the security forces pursued the citizen’s car under the suspicion of smuggling goods, eventually firing on the vehicle and killing him.
Sajjad Saadatnia was married and had one child.
About “Shoutis”:
“Shoutis” are private vehicles used to transport goods brought through unofficial channels into the urban centers of Iran. Many “Shouti” drivers are unemployed youth who, due to poverty, joblessness, and systematic governmental discrimination, risk their lives to make a living.
This phenomenon is widespread in southern, southwestern, eastern, and western Iran, fueled by high unemployment, lack of government support, mismanagement of water resources leading to the collapse of agriculture, and dire economic conditions. Poverty and systemic inequality have forced many people into this line of work out of sheer desperation.
The regions most affected by the “Shouti” phenomenon include provinces such as Bushehr (particularly Bandar Ganaveh), Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad (especially Gachsaran), Lorestan, Fars, Kerman, Baluchistan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, and West Azerbaijan.
