Iranian security agencies have pressured a family whose son was shot to death by the military-security forces in Orumiyeh, north-western Iran, forcing them to say that the young man died from a dog bite.
Nima (Aslan) Shafagh-Doust, 17, who comes from Orumiyeh, was injured after being shot twice in his legs on 21 September 2022 during the anti-government protests in the Eslamabad neighbourhood of the city.
His family initially took him to the hospital, but due to the siege of the hospital by security forces and the risk of their son being arrested, they refused to enter the hospital and treated him in a private doctor’s office and at home.
After being treated at home for 12 days, the young man was taken to the Khomeini Hospital in Orumiyeh on 4 October 2022 due to his deteriorating physical condition. A few hours later, he passed away due to a severe infection.
Following the publication of the news of the child’s death in the media, Col. Hassan Sheikhi, the Police Chief of Orumiyeh, issued a statement in response to the news and said: “The death of the youth from Orumiyeh has nothing to do with the street riots. He was admitted to the hospital due to a dog attack and passed away at his home.”
At the same time, Shafagh-Doust’s family was forced to confirm the claim in an interview with state media, under the threat of security agencies.
In the documents that reached KHRN, the traces of two bullets hitting the boy’s legs are clearly visible.
In addition, under pressure from security agencies, the forensic medical examiner in Orumieh declared the child’s cause of death as “unknown”.
Three months after Shafagh-Doust was killed, her mother broke her silence in an interview with the KHRN and confirmed that her son had been killed as a result of the shooting by government military-security forces.
“On 21 September [2022], Nima had gone to his workplace in the Eslamabad neighbourhood to receive his salary and was shot and injured by government armed forces during the anti-government protests. The local people first took him home and after dressing his leg wounds, they took him to his uncle’s house. And Nima’s uncle brought him to our house. Due to the severity of the injury, we took Nima to the hospital, but due to the large presence of security forces in front of the hospital’s entry, we returned Nima home for fear of arrest”, said Parvin Hassanabadi, the young man’s mother.
The mother said that her son was treated for 12 days at home and in a doctor’s private office. But on 4 October 2022, he was taken to the hospital due to his deteriorating physical condition and after half an hour he died of a severe infection.
The mother continued: “Nima’s body was transferred from the same hospital to the Department of Forensic Medicine in Orumiyeh and was not delivered to us for two days. The security agencies threatened us that if we spoke to the media about how Nima was killed and held a public funeral ceremony, they would do the same harm to other young people in the family.”
She added that Shafagh-Doust’s funeral was held under tight security measures in the village of Zindasht in Salmas, West Azerbaijan province. After the funeral, an armed group of security forces threatened family members to announce that the teenager had died as a result of being bitten by a dog.
Nima (Aslan) Shafagh-Doust was born on 12 September 2005 in Orumiyeh. He attended school until the sixth grade and then worked in a canteen in the Eslamabad neighbourhood of Orumiyeh.
