Iranian man, 27, shot dead for celebrating team’s World Cup exit

[+OverSword]

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An Iranian man was shot dead by security forces after Iran’s national team lost to the US and exited the World Cup, as anti-government demonstrations took place inside and outside the stadium in Qatar and across Iran.

Mehran Samak, 27, was shot dead after honking his car horn in Bandar Anzali, a city on the Caspian Sea coast, north-west of Tehran, according to human rights activists.

Samak “was targeted directly and shot in the head by security forces … following the defeat of the national team against America”, said the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR).

 

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In an extraordinary twist, Iranian international midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi, who played in the US match and is from Bandar Anzali, revealed that he knew Samak and posted a picture of them together in a youth football team.

“After last night’s bitter loss, the news of your passing set fire to my heart,” said Ezatolahi on Instagram, describing Samak as a “childhood teammate”.

He did not comment on the circumstances of his friend’s death but said: “Some day the masks will fall, the truth will be laid bare.”

He added: “This is not what our youth deserve. This is not what our nation deserves.”

Ezatolahi, distraught at the result, had been seen after the final whistle being comforted both by his teammates and the US players.

 

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by OverSword

[+and-then]

I wonder if these were Basiiji outside Iran?  What a hellish, brutal regime that is.

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

Oh, I'd love to play for that team