Firouz Mohammadi, the chief coroner in Western Azerbaijan, claimed that forensic examination on the body of Shoan Qaderi had shown that the young Kurdish dissident had been shot once in the chest and once in the right thigh and had beaten himself. “Bruises as a result of self-beating could be seen, and that is a reflection on his character”, Mohammadi said.
Eye-witnesses, however, reported at the time that after Qaderi was gunned down by State Security Forces, he was dragged on the back of a Toyota jeep in the streets of Mahabad and taken to a police station where he was tortured to death.
According to locals, the SSF killed Qaderi because he was active in anti-government protests and authorities wanted to intimidate the local population.
Since the incident, there have been continuous demonstrations and clashes between people and agents of the SSF in Kurdish towns and cities throughout northwest Iran, leaving several dead and hundreds injured or arrested.
