Family of Seyyed Hamid Taheri: We Thought They Were Firing Blanks

Rahim Ajari, the father-in-law of Seyyed Hamid Taheri who died on Saturday, November 25th after being shot, said in an interview with the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the bullet hit his chest and the hospital handed over his body to security forces.

Mr. Ajari told the Campaign that they were not allowed to bury his son-in-law in “Chahardangeh,” the neighborhood where his family lives, and the Taheri family buried him in Darussalam in Islam Shahr at the insistence of security forces.

According to his father-in-law, Seyyed Hamid Taheri was 35 years old, a carpenter, and father of a 4-month-old child. His burial and funeral ceremony were held in the presence of security personnel.

There is no accurate count of the number of people killed in last week’s protests in Iran. Islamic Republic officials are avoiding releasing official statistics on deaths and arrests. Amnesty International has stated the death toll in these protests is at least 208 people, and the Kelme website has documented at least 366 deaths in recent Iranian protests.

The Campaign for Human Rights in Iran stated in a statement that the use of violence by Iranian authorities against protesters in Iran, including the use of firearms and weapons, has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people. These actions by the government constitute a clear and unjustifiable violation of international law and must be stopped immediately.

Rahim Ajari, the father-in-law of Seyyed Hamid Taheri, said in an interview with the Campaign: “My daughter and son-in-law couldn’t have children for 10 years. After extensive follow-ups and medical treatment, they had a baby 4 months ago and were very happy. On Saturday, Hamid went to buy infant formula for the baby, and when he was returning home on Farsian Street, he was shot. Of course, we knew it was crowded and we could hear gunfire, but we thought they were firing blanks and never imagined they would shoot directly, until someone called us and said Hamid had been shot and had been taken to the Chahardangeh clinic.”

Mr. Ajari, who went to the Chahardangeh clinic to follow up on his son-in-law’s condition, told the Campaign: “He was still warm and we hoped he was alive, so we took him to Zia’ian Hospital, but when we arrived at the hospital, Hamid had already passed away. They took him from us and told us to go to Islam Shahr Forensic Medicine. They had handed him over to the authorities (security forces). But even at Forensic Medicine, they didn’t hand him over to us. His father and brother followed up, and three days later they finally gave us the body, but said he must be buried in Darussalam in Islam Shahr with no fuss. We wanted to bury Hamid in Chahardangeh, our own neighborhood, but they refused, and we were forced to accept their terms in order to get the body and bury him where they said.”

According to Mr. Ajari, his family was not charged money for the transfer of his son-in-law’s body: “They didn’t charge money, but they obtained a pledge from Hamid’s father and brother, and officials were present at the funeral ceremony. We held the ceremony at Hosseiniyyeh Seyyed al-Shohada near the house, and the officials were there too. Hamid’s father and brother followed up and were told that expert investigations need to be conducted and then they would inform us how he was killed. We also want them to tell us how and who fired the bullet.”

Source: Campaign for Human Rights in Iran