A 38-year-old Shouti from the city of Saqqez, was killed by direct gunfire from police forces on the Mahabad-Miandoab road.
According to Kolbarnews, on Monday, December 30, 2024, police forces targeted the vehicle of a Shouti on the Mahabad-Miandoab route, resulting in the driver’s death. The victim has been identified as “Erfan Irfani,” the 38-year-old son of Ali and a resident of Saqqez. Reports indicate that the police fired directly at the vehicle, causing it to overturn and leading to Irfani’s death.
“Shouti” refer to private vehicles used to transport goods imported through unofficial channels into the cities of Iran. Many Shouti drivers are unemployed youth who risk their lives due to poverty, unemployment, and systemic discrimination by the government, seeking to make ends meet.
The rise of the Shouti phenomenon in southern, southwestern, eastern, and western parts of Iran is largely attributed to poverty and high unemployment rates. Systemic governmental discrimination, lack of facilities and employment opportunities, the loss of agricultural prospects due to water scarcity and poor water resource management, as well as economic and livelihood challenges, have driven many individuals to take up this dangerous work.
A significant number of men and women in provinces such as Bushehr (especially Bandar Ganaveh), Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad (notably Gachsaran), Lorestan, Fars, Kerman, Balochistan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, and West Azerbaijan have turned to Shouti as a means of survival in the face of poverty and unemployment.
