Mahmoud Sadeghi about the meeting with the Minister of Interior: We asked why he was shot in the head, they said he was also shot in the leg

MP Mahmoud Sadeghi has provided new details from a parliamentary commission meeting with the Minister of Interior regarding the November protests in Iran.

Reports indicate that Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli appeared before the Parliament's Internal Affairs and Councils Committee last week to answer questions from a number of impeachment-striking MPs. The meeting was attended by the deputy interior ministers for security and politics, as well as the MPs requesting the impeachment.

In an interview with the website "Imtadad" published on Monday, December 15, Mahmoud Sadeghi said about this meeting: "In the same meeting, one of the representatives of the cities announced that two people in my constituency (Karaj and Shahr-e-Quds) had died from bullet wounds to the brain. He asked Rahmani Fazli if it was possible to shoot at least in the leg or below the waist, and such shots were fired? The Minister of Interior responded, "Well! There were shots in the leg as well."

The MP says that the Iranian Interior Minister's response left the MPs "astonished."

Mahmoud Sadeghi continued: "The representatives are surprised that Mr. Minister has raised such an issue so carelessly. Will such an answer be a convincing justification? It is said that we brought this unrest to a halt within 48 hours. My question was, does bringing it to a halt mean that this much shooting took place and left so many dead, is it art?"

He added: "The point of gathering is that you allow the word to be spoken in the first place. And that is the protesters who have taken a stand and reacted in response to a very unprofessional and surprising decision."

Following a threefold increase in the price of free gasoline, many Iranian cities witnessed widespread protests. Reports indicate a heavy crackdown on the protests since Saturday, November 15.

Officials have reported that about 30 Iranian provinces are involved in the protests. Clashes between protesters and security forces have been more widespread in Mahshahr in Khuzestan province, cities around Tehran, cities in Alborz province, and the city of Sadra near Shiraz, and are reported to have caused the highest number of deaths.

Amnesty International, in its latest report, put the number of people killed in the widespread protests in November at 304, saying that thousands of people, including 15-year-old children, have been arrested, and that the lack of information and awareness threatens the detainees with the risk of torture.

The need to announce the death toll from the November protests

In another part of this interview, Mahmoud Sadeghi said: "I still believe in the need to announce the death toll from the November events in Egypt, and I believe that this will prevent the enemies from exploiting the issue. Of course, we have also presented a plan for a special commission and are seeking to form it. If the authorities do not have the basis for publicly announcing these statistics, they should announce them to the people's representatives in this special commission."

Despite the fact that a month has passed since the November protests, Islamic Republic officials are still unwilling to announce the number of people killed and arrested in these protests.

Human rights monitors at Amnesty International said on Monday that the Islamic Republic's security forces have "brutally suppressed" the November protests, and have detained thousands of people, including journalists, human rights activists and students, to silence those speaking out about the ongoing "atrocious" measures.

Impeachment of the Minister of Interior

Mahmoud Sadeghi, one of the representatives who signed the impeachment motion against the Interior Minister, said in this regard: "Apart from the untimely decision to increase gasoline prices, which required accountability from other institutions, considering Rahmani Fazli's direct responsibility in the National Security Council and the way this issue is managed within the authority of the Ministry of Interior, we must see accountability in this regard."

The MP added: "There are significant uncertainties in the management of the consequences of this decision. First, the way it was implemented caused irritation, concern, unrest, and ultimately riots for which the gentlemen must be held accountable. Second, there are obvious weaknesses in the proper handling of this incident."

The Interior Minister's interrogators have announced that Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, as the main person responsible for implementing the decision of the Economic Coordination Council of the Heads of Powers regarding the increase in gasoline prices, "did not provide the necessary prerequisites and arrangements for implementing this decision, especially informing and persuading the people, and has caused serious damage to the Islamic Republic system."

Ali Motahari, a member of parliament, had previously said that the impeachment of the Interior Minister would be carried out if the Leader of the Islamic Republic did not object.

Source: Radio Farda