Officers of the reinforcement unit of Iranian police in Ilam, western Iran, targeted a Pride model car and killed its driver named Habib Azh and severely injured his companion, Vahid Ataei, on 1 July.
A relative of the driver, who wanted his name to remain anonymous for security reasons, spoke to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) on the details of the incident.
The relative said that on 1 July, Azh took his neighbour Ataei’s ill child to the hospital in his car at around 01:00 local time. While returning from the hospital, they hit the side mirror of a reinforcement unit’s vehicle due to high speed and the dark, on the road from Imam Boulevard to Shohada Street.
The source continued: “Due to anxiety and fear, Habib Azh continued his way without stopping and was chased by the reinforcement unit’s vehicle. The forces of the reinforcement unit fired dozens of bullets at Habib Azh’s car as he did not stop.”
According to the source, Azh was killed on the spot after one of the bullets hit his head. Ataei was also severely injured and is currently hospitalised in an intensive care unit with the risk of spinal cord rupture.
The officers then searched the car after it stopped. They then ran away from the incident scene as they could not find any suspicious items or illegal goods.
CCTV camera recordings show that Azh got into a car with Ataei and his son at 0400 local time and headed towards the hospital.
Another video recorded by the relatives of the two civilians who arrived at the scene of the incident with the police clearly shows that the car was repeatedly targeted with bullets.
On 2 July, the department of forensic medicine in Ilam returned Azh’s body to his family. He was buried in the city cemetery.
Azh, 37, was the father of three children.
