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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.
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