The identity of one of the people killed in the recent popular protests in Fardis, Karaj, has been confirmed.
Ashur Kalta, an Assyrian citizen living in Fardis, Karaj, lost his life during the recent popular protests in Iran, when security forces directly fired on him.
An informed source told VOA on Tuesday, December 9, that the Christian citizen died on Sunday, November 16, from a gunshot wound to the chest, and his family learned of the incident through an anonymous phone call. However, they were initially told that he had died in a car accident.
After this phone call, the family's continued efforts to find Mr. Kalta's body were unsuccessful until they received another phone call telling them to go to the forensics office to identify the body.
According to this informed person, the family will learn the real cause of death when they see Mr. Kalta's lifeless body at the forensics. Based on the available evidence, the real cause of death was a bullet hitting the heart and exiting through the left shoulder.
According to available information, the body of this Christian citizen was handed over to the family members with a commitment not to disclose information and to hold a small, family ceremony. The body of this Assyrian citizen was buried on November 19 in the Assyrian and Chaldean Catholic cemetery in Islamshahr.
Following the sudden increase in gasoline prices, Iran witnessed widespread protests against the Islamic Republic. On Friday, November 14, after news of the sudden increase in gasoline prices was released, protests took place in various cities in Iran, and just one day after the protests began, the Islamic Republic almost completely cut off the internet on Saturday night, November 15.
Previously, Amnesty International announced in its latest report on the suppression of popular protests in November that, according to credible reports received by the organization, at least 208 people were killed in these protests, and that the actual number of deaths is likely higher.
Brian Hook, the US Special Representative for Iran, also spoke at a press conference on Thursday, December 4, referring to the popular protests in Iran, calling them the biggest crisis in the Islamic Republic's history, and said that perhaps 1,000 people have been killed since the protests began in Iran, but the Iranian regime does not allow accurate information.
President Donald Trump also reacted once again to the Iranian government's actions against the protesting people on Tuesday, December 3, and said on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO member states' leaders: "It is very unfortunate that protesters in Iran were killed simply because they were protesting."
On the sidelines of this gathering, the US President repeatedly referred to the issue of Iranian protesters and America's support for the Iranian people, saying: "Protesters in Iran are seeking freedom, and we fully support them."
On Monday, December 1, in a speech at the University of Lowell (Louisville), US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged the internal reasons for the protests in some Middle Eastern countries, and also referred to the role of the Islamic Republic in these countries, saying that the Iranian regime is the common factor behind all the protests in the region.
Source: Voice of America
