Iranian government troops shot dead a 22-year-old Kurdish Kasibkar (tradesperson) on false suspicion of smuggling in a village near the city of Mariwan (Marivan) on 6 March, a Kolber worker who witnessed the incident told Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).

Kurdish Kasibkar worker Madih Partoee, 22, was shot dead by an Iranian government troops patrol that was under the command of Colonel Parvizi at the time of the shooting, the KHRN source said.

“Partoee was was 22 and he comes from Kani Miran village near Mariwan. He just recently got married and his wife is pregnant. He was driving his Toyota car between two villages when he encountered an Iranian patrol under the supervision of Colonel Parvizi. They suspected him of transporting smuggled items and directly opened fire on his car without giving him any warning to stop,” the source said.

“He was critically wounded by two bullets in his thorax. He bled while transported to the nearest hospital in Mariwan. He died from his wounds a few hours later [at the hospital],” the source said, adding: “His car was searched and the Iranian authorities did not find any smuggled items in his car, which was covered with bullet holes”.

Partoee’s slaying angered local Kurds and triggered several protests in the Mariwan area, according to the source.

Kasibkars are poor workers who transport items imported by the Kolber workers on the borders to Iran’s central cities.

44 Kolber and Kasibkar workers were killed and 21 were wounded in 2015, according to a KHRN annual report on human rights violations against Kurdish Kolber workers in Iran.

The 2015 KHRN report also said that seven of the Kolber workers drowned in rivers, and others had died of hypothermia and other incidents related to adverse weather conditions during work.