17-Year-Old Abolfazl Adinezadeh Shot And Killed In Iran Protests

A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed when he attended an anti-government protest in Iran. The security forces fired a shotgun at him at point-blank range.

Abolfazl Adinezadeh skipped school to attend a protest in the city of Mashhad. The protest turned fatal when the Iranian authorities violently cracked down. Security forces shot at him from a close range and killed him.

Teenager Killed In Iran Protests

A video showed Adinezadeh’s father pleading during his funeral, “What crime had he committed that you sprayed his stomach with 24 birdshot?” According to his death certificate obtained by BBC, the teenager passed away as a result of liver and kidney damage caused by birdshot.

Sources cited a doctor said that he was fired less than one metre away.

He had joined the protests on October 8 and never returned home. Adinezadeh’s parents were called by the educational ministry to pick up their son from the police station the next day. When they arrived, they found that their teenage son was dead.

Sources told the BBC that the late Adinezadeh’s family was warned not to speak with the media. According to sources, Adinezadeh’s father was warned at the police station, “You zip your mouth and do not talk to media”.

His family was also pressured to say their son was a member of the Basij, the notorious paramilitary force involved in the violent crackdown against the protesters.

The sources also alleged that security personnel in plainclothes were present during Adinezadeh’s funeral, shushing mourners who wanted to express their rage. When the teenager’s aunt held up a picture of him over his grave, a female agent snatched the frame and put it under her veil.

Reportedly, some mourners were stopped after the funeral and asked to delete the videos from their phones. His mobile phone has not been returned to the family yet.

Sources said the teenager was known for making everybody smile and was always dancing and laughing.

Abolfazl Adinezadeh joined the protests that erupted across Iran after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was killed in the custody of the morality police. Amini was detained by the morality police for wearing her hijab “improperly”.

According to Iran’s Human Rights Activists News Agency, 244 protesters, including 32 children were killed by security forces in the violent crackdown.

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