Judiciary Official Rejects 'Rape of the Deceased' Rumor in Mahabad

In response to ongoing reactions and official explanations regarding the Mahabad incident, the head of the judiciary in West Azerbaijan denied any connection between the accused and the country's security agencies, citing forensic examinations to refute 'any rumors of rape of the deceased.' According to the judiciary-affiliated news agency Mizan, Tavakkol Heydari, the head of the judiciary in West Azerbaijan, emphasized on Friday, May 18, that 'there was no relationship of this nature between the deceased and the accused.' He referred to the examination of '25 text messages exchanged between the accused and the deceased' and the 'statements of the accused,' stating that the hotel staff member, after being 'in the accused's room,' learned through one of 'his colleagues' that the hotel manager was 'monitoring the surveillance cameras,' which caused him to become 'flustered' and attempt to jump from the balcony to the 'lower floor,' but he failed and fell 'down.' Meanwhile, the state news agency IRNA, in a different account citing an 'informed source,' reported that 'the hotel manager, while informing the girl's family, knocked on the door of the mentioned room, and the girl, to avoid revealing her relationship, contacted a colleague to move to another room through the balcony.' This news agency claimed that 'this girl had repeatedly visited the room of the individual who has also been arrested as the accused.' Previously, several local websites and news pages on social media like Facebook had claimed that a 28-year-old girl named Parinaz Khosravani, an employee of the Tara Hotel in Mahabad, jumped out of a window of one of the hotel floors to prevent a sexual assault by 'a security officer' and lost her life. Meanwhile, reports indicated that the city of Mahabad in West Azerbaijan province witnessed unrest on Thursday, May 17, during clashes between protesters and riot police, resulting in a hotel being set on fire. Following these events, Jafar Katani, the governor of the city, announced the arrest of the accused in the 'suspicious death of a young girl in one of the hotels in this city,' stating that the accused 'was not an inspector or supervisor of any agency.' Additionally, the head of the judiciary in West Azerbaijan stated that the accused in this incident 'is an interior design engineer and has no previous collaboration with any government agency, let alone being a security officer.' Tavakkol Heydari emphasized that the accused's activity was 'in the field of improving hotel standards,' which is why he was present at the Tara Hotel in Mahabad. Reports circulating on social media claimed that this security officer promised the Tara hotel manager that he would 'assist' in converting this hotel into a five-star hotel. The head of the judiciary in West Azerbaijan further stated that 'the accused invited the deceased to his room.' He added: 'The accused stated that a few minutes after the deceased's arrival in the room and their conversation, the hotel manager... informed the deceased's mother of the situation by phone, and the mother of the deceased called her daughter to say that the hotel manager was looking for her.' Mr. Heydari, referring to the hotel staff's phone call with 'one of his colleagues,' added: 'According to the accused's statements, the deceased's colleague... informed him that the hotel manager was monitoring the surveillance cameras.' He continued: 'The accused... decided to leave the room... traversed several adjacent balconies, each about 80 centimeters apart, and then decided to jump from the balcony to the lower floor, but after hanging from the balcony, he was unable to do so and fell down.' The protests in Mahabad 'did not result in any fatalities.' Following the protests in Mahabad, the website 'Kurdpa' reported that security forces 'used shotgun and tear gas to disperse the protesters.' This website also noted: 'One of the protesters died due to severe injuries, but the Kurdpa reporter has not yet confirmed the accuracy of this news.' According to the state news agency IRNA, Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi, the social deputy of the police force, denied these reports on Saturday, stating that 'this incident did not result in any fatalities.' Meanwhile, Alireza Radfar, the political and security deputy of the West Azerbaijan governor, also stated on Friday that 'no gunfire' was carried out by the police forces, and the police only attempted to disperse the protesters using 'anti-riot methods and complete restraint.' While provincial officials have only reported the arrest of one suspect in this case in recent days, the social deputy of the police force stated that 'several suspects have also been arrested in this province and are under investigation.' According to Mr. Montazer al-Mahdi, the 'main suspect' in the Mahabad incident has made 'confessions' after being arrested. He did not provide details about these 'confessions.'