Increased Pressure on Families of November Killings; Father of Burhan Mansourmia Summoned by Sepah Intelligence
One of the relatives of Burhan Mansourmia, who was killed by gunfire on Saturday, November 16 in Kermanshah, informed the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran in an interview that his father was summoned by Sepah intelligence and stated that the Mansourmia family is under pressure to have their son declared a “martyr.”
Burhan Mansourmia, 28 years old, a Ph.D. graduate in veterinary medicine and a military conscript, was shot by law enforcement bullets during protests on Saturday, November 16 in Kermanshah, wounded, and 34 hours later died in Taleghani Hospital in Kermanshah. His family was forced to bury him at night in Marivan. There is no precise count of those killed in Iran’s November protests. Islamic Republic officials refrain from presenting official statistics of the killed and detained. Amnesty International has documented 304 cases, and Reuters news agency, citing sources in Iran’s Interior Ministry, reported approximately 1,500 people were killed during the November protests, and also reported Iran’s leader’s order to end the protests “by any means possible.”
The Campaign for Human Rights in Iran stated in a statement that Iranian authorities’ use of violence against protesters in Iran, including the use of firearms and weapons, resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, and these government actions constitute a clear and unjustifiable violation of international law and must be stopped immediately.
One of Burhan Mansourmia’s relatives told the Campaign: “After news about Burhan was published, Sepah intelligence summoned, interrogated, and threatened his father on Thursday: A Kurdish-language network that has a large audience in Kurdistan published information about Burhan, and they summoned Burhan’s father. Sepah intelligence interrogated and threatened Burhan’s father on Thursday. They are strongly opposed to publishing any news about Burhan and other victims and pressure the family whenever any news is published. Of course, this is not the first time they have summoned Burhan’s father.”
Previously, another relative of Burhan Mansourmia told the Campaign: “On the first day of Burhan’s funeral ceremony at the mosque, security agencies contacted his father and said he should come to Marivan intelligence, but his father resisted and said whoever needs to see me should come to the mosque where people are, and we are here too. They called two or three times, and Burhan’s father did not go. A few days later, Sepah intelligence summoned Burhan’s father. It was not a threat; they offered: come so the family becomes martyrs and receive blood money. Of course, this offer to declare him a martyr and give blood money has been said to Burhan’s father many times, especially since he himself is retired from the Martyr’s Foundation. Once they called saying the Friday imam, the Marivan governor, the Marivan Sepah commander, the Martyrs Foundation chief, and the Marivan representative would come to your house to offer condolences. The family strongly objected, and Burhan’s father called the head of the Martyrs Foundation and said my wife’s condition is not suitable and I would appreciate it if you would not come. This offer is extremely shameless, and Burhan’s family will not sell Burhan’s blood.”
Now one of his relatives told the Campaign of the continuation of this pressure and security officials’ insistence on declaring Burhan Mansourmia a martyr: “The first pressure was that nothing should be said, the family should not speak, should not give interviews anywhere. Now the pressures are much, much greater. What they want is for government officials to come and Burhan’s family to receive them. From the Marivan Friday imam to the governor and Sepah intelligence representative, which the family has so far refused despite the pressures. They want to come with cameras, journalists, and photographers, and through media propaganda declare Burhan a martyr and his family as the family of a martyr. They said they have opened a file and conducted investigations and the file for declaring Burhan a martyr is ready, but so far they have not even once said why they killed Burhan and who his killers are.”
According to him: “The pressure on families that have given interviews and publicized their children’s deaths in the media is greater than on other families, and their insistence on declaring them martyrs is the same. For example, another family of those killed in Marivan who lost their only breadwinner and has urgent financial needs wanted their child to be declared a martyr themselves, but they received no response. There are several other families in Marivan, but the pressure on Burhan’s family with reluctance and refusal is completely contradictory to other families, and in a way shows that the government is trying to appropriate the deaths of those whose deaths have been publicized in detail by the media. On the other hand, Burhan was a conscript of the law enforcement forces, and for the government, apparently having a law enforcement conscript killed and declared a martyr in the protests is an important propaganda tool, which is why they are putting so much pressure on the family.”
One of Burhan’s relatives continued in an interview with the Campaign: “Burhan was one of the few who survived long enough to tell his family about being shot and killed before his death. He was alive 34 hours after being shot and told everything. Burhan’s friends and relatives publicized everything in the media, although his family has remained silent due to pressures.”
Source: Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
