CNN
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Mourners gathering to commemorate the Fortieth day for the reason that demise of Nika Shahkarami, an Iranian teenager who went lacking on September 20 after attending protests within the capital Tehran, have been met with gunfire and tear fuel by safety forces, in accordance with video posted on social media and geolocated by CNN.
Video confirmed obvious smoke from tear fuel close to a bridge the place mourners had gathered close to the village of Veysian. Apparent gunfire was audible in one other video clip shared on social media. It is unclear if there have been any casualties.
The teen’s maternal aunt, Atash Shahkarami, had posted a photograph on Instagram saying that the Fortieth-day commemoration can be held on Thursday at a cemetery in Lorestan province.
Video reveals mourners holding pictures of Shahkarami and chanting “Khamenei will be overthrown this bloody year,” “We are all Nika, come on fight,” “Death to the dictator,” and “Death to Khamenei.”
When the 16-year-old went lacking, she was attending one of many protests that sprung up all through the nation towards the demise of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian girl who died final month in state custody after being detained by the nation’s morality police.
On Thursday, CNN printed an unique investigation into the ultimate hours of Shahkarami’s life.
Iranian authorities claimed Shahkarami’s physique was discovered in the back of a courtyard on the morning of September 21. Her mom wasn’t given entry to establish her till eight days later.
CCTV footage launched by the authorities timestamped simply after midnight as September 20 grew to become September 21 confirmed the determine of a masked particular person they stated was Shahkarami getting into a constructing that was uninhabited, and nonetheless below development in Tehran.
A Tehran prosecutor initially stated she died after being thrown from the constructing’s roof, and that her demise “had no connection to the protests” of that day, however regardless of apparently declaring her demise a murder, he didn’t say whether or not there have been suspects below investigation.
But dozens of movies and eyewitness accounts obtained solely by CNN point out that Shahkarami seems to have been chased and detained by Iranian safety forces that night time. One key eyewitness, Ladan, informed CNN she noticed Shahkarami being taken into custody on the protest by “several large-bodied plainclothes security officers” who bundled her right into a automotive.
On Wednesday, after CNN requested the federal government to touch upon the proof on this investigation, an Iranian media report quoted a Tehran prosecutor as saying that Shahkarami’s demise was a suicide. Iranian authorities nonetheless haven’t responded to CNN’s repeated inquiries about her demise.
The Thursday clampdown of mourners in Veysian comes after clashes broke out all through Iran as individuals tried to mark 40 days since Amini died, an vital day of mourning in Iranian and Islamic custom.
On the identical day, a Shia holy shrine within the metropolis of Shiraz was attacked on Wednesday that left not less than 15 individuals useless and greater than 40 injured, ISIS affiliated Amaq information company stated. ISIS has claimed duty for the assault, however Iran’s leaders have conflated the assault with anti-government protesters.
On Thursday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei vowed to take motion towards the attackers. “The perpetrator or perpetrators of this lugubrious crime will certainly be punished,” he stated.
Iranian navy commanders additionally threatened anti-government protesters with additional crackdowns, after claiming they have been “complicit” in Wednesday’s assault, in accordance with statements printed by the official state information company IRNA.
The commanders didn’t present proof for the declare.
Iran’s Armed Forces stated in an announcement that the protests have been designed to create “insecurity and chaos” and added “this terrorist act is also a part of that design.”
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian stated that proof from the assault confirmed that “foreign meddlers” have “designed a multi-layer project” to weaken the nation.
“We will definitely not allow Iran’s national security and interests to be toyed with by terrorists and foreign meddlers who claim to defend human rights,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian stated in an announcement carried by the international ministry.