26-Year-Old Killed in Gohardasht Karaj Protests

Following reports of the death of a participant in street protests in Gohardasht Karaj by riot police, the city's prosecutor claimed that the 26-year-old was shot from among the 'protesters' and 'from behind.' Haji-Reza Shakeri stated in an interview with Tasnim news agency on Sunday, August 14, that 'a shot was fired by the protesters at a young man who was among them.' He also mentioned that 'a number of shots were fired at the present officers, and this young man was hit from behind and killed.' Meanwhile, the Twitter account of Fars news agency claimed that the shot was fired from a Peugeot 206 vehicle and 'with a non-organizational weapon.' The prosecutor of Karaj did not mention the name of this young man, but some social media users reported the killing of a young man named Reza Outadi by riot police during the protests in Gohardasht Karaj. Radio Farda does not have reporters in Iran and cannot independently confirm the details of these gatherings. The prosecutor's claim about the young man's death being caused by protesters comes amid previous assertions by security and judicial officials attributing the deaths of several individuals in protests to 'unknown individuals,' 'agents of Western security services,' and people among the protesters. However, reports from human rights organizations indicate that these individuals were killed by riot police or Basij forces. Iranian officials have not accepted responsibility for the killings of most individuals during protests, including victims of the 2009 protests, the December 2017 protests, and other similar cases. Gohardasht Karaj was among the locations where protests occurred in recent days. Meanwhile, some social media users reported the establishment of checkpoints on routes leading to this area. Fars news agency's Twitter also reported that 20 protesters were arrested during the street protests in Karaj. Earlier, journalist Zhila Baniyaghoub tweeted that 'more than 50 women arrested in recent protests in Tehran have been transferred to Qarchak prison in Varamin.' Official authorities have not provided statistics on the number of individuals arrested in recent days. The new wave of street protests in Iran began following the collapse of the rial's value, economic instability, rising prices, and the daily increase in foreign currency and gold coin prices, but in recent days, the main slogans of the protesters have been against the Supreme Leader, the government, and clerics. Protests have recently taken place in Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Ahvaz, Mashhad, and several other cities in Iran.