Fardin Jafari, a 27-year-old civilian with mental disability, is in a critical condition after being shot in the head by an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sniper near Aichi cemetery in Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, on the afternoon of 16 September.
The shooting took place on the anniversary of the government’s killing of Jina Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who is buried in the Aichi cemetery.
The incident came as Special Forces and Revolutionary Guards were deployed along the main streets of Saqqez, as well as on the road leading to Aichi Cemetery, effectively preventing civilians from accessing the area.
Jafari, who has a documented mental disability and is from the village of Mameh Shah in Saqqez, was targeted by an IRGC sniper on the road near Aichi cemetery as he was returning to his village, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned.
Following the incident, Jafari was immediately admitted to the intensive care unit of Shafa Hospital in Saqqez.
According to medical sources, the bullet caused a fracture and significant damage to the brain tissue, particularly in the left temporal (cerebral) region, and the civilian remains in a critical condition, with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of three.
Security officials have threatened Jafari’s family not to speak to the media about their son’s condition, the KHRN has learned.
In addition, the KHRN has learned that on the same evening, Revolutionary Guards used various military weapons to disperse gatherings of civilians in neighbourhoods of the cities of Sanandaj, Bukan, and Mahabad.
