A number of Iranian and Afghan citizens who intended to gather in front of the Afghan Embassy on Monday, April 19 to express solidarity with the family of a six-year-old Afghan girl who was killed following abuse the previous week were dispersed by security and law enforcement forces, and their peaceful gathering was prevented.
The gathering formed following the circulation of a call titled “A Candle for Setayesh, Daughter of Afghanistan and Iran” on social networks, in which people were asked to show solidarity with Setayesh’s family by gathering at 7 PM on Monday, April 19 in front of the Afghan Embassy.
Setayesh Qureshi, a six-year-old Afghan girl, went missing on April 12 in the “Kheirabad” area of Varamin and her body was found the next day in a neighbor’s house. A 17-year-old teenager who is a neighbor of the girl’s family is accused of her murder. According to reports, police did not allow the gathering and candlelight vigil in solidarity with the Afghan girl’s family.
An eyewitness told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran: “The treatment of Afghan nationals was harsher. Some of the gatherers were attacked with batons and about 10 to 15 men present at the scene were arrested.”
According to eyewitnesses, “All streets leading to the Afghan Embassy located on Shahid Beheshti Street (Abbas Abad) were closed and they did not allow passage, especially for Afghan nationals. Metro service at this station was also disrupted for several hours.”
Some social network users who were present at the scene also said that police used tear gas and were filming the attendees. After that, images emerged showing that despite police confrontations, some people went to a nearby park and lit candles in memory of Setayesh, placing them next to her photo.
According to ISNA news agency, officials prevented the gathering and ceremony in front of the Afghan Embassy on Pakistan Street in Tehran, arguing that such a gathering and commemoration did not have permission, and dispersed the people present on this street. The report continued: “Following this action, some participants went to a park near Tehran’s Messallah metro station and proceeded to light memorial candles, which were again dispersed when police intervened.” ISNA also wrote: “A number of Afghans present at this ceremony were arrested and transferred to law enforcement vehicles stationed there. There were also scattered clashes between ceremony participants and law enforcement, with a number of officers removing candles from some participants.”
Colonel Abdol Reza Nazari, commander of law enforcement in eastern Tehran Province, in explaining details of Setayesh’s murder case, said that police arrested a 17-year-old boy suspected in the killing.
Shargh newspaper on Monday, April 19 reported Colonel Nazari as saying that the suspect confessed to the murder of the six-year-old girl at the police station and the case has now been handed over to the judicial system. Referring to “various rumors in cyberspace,” he said “some of them are not accurate” but provided no further clarification. He said that police investigations showed the suspect and the victim had family relations.
According to the Jam-e Jam newspaper website, the “Ihya” website, which publishes news about Afghan migrants, was the original source of the news. The website reported that the six-year-old Afghan girl was burned with acid after being abducted and killed.
Shiraqah Qureshi, Setayesh’s father, provided other details of the incident in an interview with Jam-e Jam newspaper.
The father of the victim, who has four other children, said that Setayesh left home at 12:30 PM last Sunday to buy ice cream but never returned: “As her absence prolonged, we searched everywhere but found no trace of her. We went to the local police station and filed a complaint, and with the efforts of police officers, my daughter’s body was found Monday evening.”
According to the victim’s father, the suspect boy abducted the six-year-old girl and killed her in their house, then poured acid on the body to destroy it. Setayesh’s father said that the main suspect talked about the murder with a friend after committing it, and the friend reported him to police.
The murder suspect, who is below the legal age, was sent to a juvenile reform and correction facility. Law enforcement officers took him to the crime scene on Saturday, and he explained the scene of the murder there.
Setayesh’s father told Jam-e Jam newspaper: “The body was unidentifiable due to acid burns and the coroner has not yet issued their opinion on the cause of death and the possibility of assault.”
Abolghasem Moradtalab, the general and revolutionary prosecutor of Varamin County, also told ISNA on April 30: “The coroner was supposed to send their opinion as soon as possible, within a day or two, so that we can refer the case to the criminal court of Tehran Province for investigation.”
According to Moradtalab, “One of the matters that the coroner must inform us about is the mental health of the suspect; although he himself has not claimed mental illness, but we asked the coroner to examine this matter as well so that we can obtain confirmation of his mental health to avoid any deficiency in the case and so that the suspect does not have any contrary claims in the future.”
Source: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
