An Iranian man has been shot dead by security forces after celebrating the United States kicking Iran out of the World Cup, human rights groups said on Wednesday.
Iran was knocked out by the United States in Qatar on Tuesday night, sparking mixed reactions from pro- and anti-regime supporters. Many refused to support the national team as a result of a bloody government crackdown during two months of protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.
Mehran Samak, 27, was shot dead after honking his horn in Bandar Anzali, a town on the Caspian Sea coast northwest of Tehran, human rights groups said.
Samak “was shot in the head by security forces … after the team’s defeat in the game against America,” the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said.
The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) also reported that the victim was killed by security forces while celebrating.
The organization published a video of Mehran Samak’s funeral on Wednesday, in which “death to the dictator” can be heard.
“Death to the Dictator!”
Mehran Samak was reportedly shot by security forces in Bandar Anzali, Gilan province, on November 1. 29 as he drove/honked to celebrate Iran’s loss to the US in Qatar #World Cup football match.
This was his funeral in Tehran.#مهسا_امینی #مهران_سماک pic.twitter.com/859lqW9My5
— IranHumanRights.org (@ICHRI) November 30, 2022
The cry addressed to Iran’s Supreme Leader is one of the main slogans of the protests that erupted after Amini’s death.
Iranian security forces have killed at least 448 people in the crackdown on protests, including 60 children under the age of 18 and 29 women, according to the IHR. An Iranian general said on Monday that more than 300 people were killed.
Source: DN
