Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Aug. 17 The head of the coroner’s office in the province of Western Azerbaijan, northwest Iran, told the state-owned ISNA news agency that a young Kurd who was shot and killed by police in the Kurdish town of Mahabad on July 10 had not been tortured as has been claimed by his family and eye-witnesses but instead had beaten himself. Iran Focus
Tehran, Iran, Aug. 17 The head of the coroner’s office in the province of Western Azerbaijan, northwest Iran, told the state-owned ISNA news agency that a young Kurd who was shot and killed by police in the Kurdish town of Mahabad on July 10 had not been tortured as has been claimed by his family and eye-witnesses but instead had beaten himself.
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.
