Iran probes killing of man celebrating World Cup loss


FILE–The flags of Iran and the United States are displayed during the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup Group B soccer match between Iran and the United States at Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha on November 29, 2022. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
Iran said on Thursday it had opened an investigation into the death of a man shot while celebrating Iran’s defeat at the World Cup to arch-enemy the United States.
The defeat knocked Iran’s national football team out of the tournament in Qatar on Tuesday night, prompting mixed reactions from supporters and anti-government supporters.
After the match, “a person named Mehran Samak died suspiciously after being hit by a shotgun bullet in the city of Bandar Anzali,” Gilan provincial prosecutor Mehdi Fallahmiri said, quoted by the judiciary’s Mizan Online website. guide.
“An investigation has been opened and a local prosecutor has been assigned to the case,” he added.
Human rights groups based abroad say Samak, 27, was shot dead by Iranian security forces after honking his car during celebrations following Iran’s defeat to the United States.
The result has sparked both joy and despair among Iranians in a country divided by protests that erupted after the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini in custody.
The 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish girl died three days after being in a coma after being arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic republic’s dress code for women.
The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Major General Hossein Salami, on Thursday said Iran’s enemies have influenced young people who are satisfied with football results.
“Today, they (the enemies) are all trying to plant the seeds of despair in the hearts of young people and some of them are even satisfied afterwards and they are happy with it,” he said. the disqualification of the national football team.
“We must take measures to serve the people, because poverty and misery are also among the enemies of the country,” Salami said, according to the official news agency IRNA.
An Iranian general said on Monday that more than 300 people have been killed in the unrest caused by Amini’s death.
The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights NGO said on Tuesday that at least 448 people have been “killed by security forces during ongoing protests across the country”.
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