Iran security forces kill youth at point blank, drag body in town

Iran Focus:

Mahabad, Iran, Jul. 12 – Iran’s State Security Forces on Sunday opened fire at youths in the north-western volatile Kurdish town of Mahabad, leaving one young man dead and several others injured.

A group of friends were walking at an avenue in Independence Square in Mahabad at 22:30, when they were approached and attacked by an SSF convoy, plain-clothed Islamic vigilantes, and a number of agents of Iran’s dreaded Ministry of Intelligence and Security (VEVAK), according to several eye-witnesses.

The SSF fatally shot a young man by the name of Shavaneh Qaderi and critically injured two other individuals.

The security forces then proceeded with tying Qaderi’s body to a Toyota jeep and while driving dragged it in streets, according to the witnesses.

“This barbaric and inhumane act was carried out to scare everybody so that they stop their anti-government protests”, said one witness, who requested to remain anonymous.

“Shavaneh was always active in demonstrations against the regime. Whenever there was a protest, he was always on the frontlines”, said another witnessed, who claimed that he was a friend of Qaderi.

Minutes after Qaderi’s body was dragged throughout the town, several hundred local angry residents gathered in nearby streets and started to chant anti-government slogans.

Anti-riot police were brought in from the neighbouring towns of Miandoab and Naqadeh to stop the escalation of protests.

Several large anti-government demonstrations have rocked the town of Mahabad in recent month.

Residents believe that with the arrival of ultra-conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the new President of Iran, security forces will have a freer reign to suppress dissent.

Ahmadinejad recently rejected a request by Kurdish Members of Parliament to allow ethnic Kurds into his cabinet.