Iranian forces kill young man for celebrating World Cup loss
Iranian authorities have once again confronted individual expression with lethal force. Security forces in the country’s northern city of Bandar Anzali have killed a young man for celebrating the national football team’s elimination from the World Cup. Security fatally shot the man in the head last night after he honked his car horn.
The man killed, 27 year old Mehran Samak, was one of several Iranians celebrating the loss of their own country’s team. Many Iranians refused to support the national team, seeing it as representing the country’s theocratic regime.
Several viral videos have shown Iranians cheering and honking their horns at the team’s recent loss against the US.
معلومه از فالوئرهای سرهنگ کرمی زند هستند. خوب خیابون رو قفل کردند.✌️🤣pic.twitter.com/M16glQqjuy
— me@narimangharib.com – #MahsaAmini (@NarimanGharib) November 29, 2022
This news comes in the wake of Iran’s largest protest movement since the country’s fuel crisis in 2019 when 1,500 people were reported to have been killed.
The protests were sparked in September after Iran’s so-called morality police killed a 22 year old woman named Mahsa Amini. Amini was killed after she allegedly wore her headscarf improperly.
Since then, the country has erupted with rage. The explosive new movement has largely been led by women. There have been mass uprisings in areas with ethnic minorities such as Kurds and Balochis.
The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported on Tuesday that at least 448 people, including 60 children and 29 women, have been killed by security forces. IHR says these numbers are a minimum, and only included cases verified by the NGO through documents including death certificates, medical staff testimonies, or confirmation through two independent sources.
1. At least 448 people inc 60 children and 29 women have been killed by security forces. The numbers are a minimum and only include cases verified by IHRNGO through docs inc death certificates/medical staff testimony, or confirmation through two independent sources.#مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/4i28n4ShMs
— Iran Human Rights (IHR NGO) (@IHRights) November 29, 2022
The current Iranian Revolution has leaked into the FIFA World Cup 2022. Last week, the national team refused to sing its own country’s anthem. The players’ families were then threatened with imprisonment and torture by Iranian authorities, according to a source involved in the security of the games.
Meanwhile, Mehran Samak is another young Iranian life taken too soon, after he dared to express himself publicly.
