Iran protests: Victim's family recounts fatal shooting

"Accessing reliable information from inside Iran is still difficult after the regime shut down internet access and blocked international calls amid the largest uprising against its rule seen in decades. In recent days, some Iranians abroad have managed to contact relatives in Iran as limited communications access was restored. DW spoke with one of them who lives in Cologne, Germany. Mohammad Saleh Zarif Moghadam left his home in the capital, Tehran, on the evening of January 8"

"According to his aunt, Farzaneh, the 28-year-old had also taken part in demonstrations in 2022 following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who died in police custody after Iran's notorious morality police accused her of violating the country's strict dress code. This time, however, Saleh would not return. "He lost his life for freedom," Farzaneh told DW. The protests began in late December in Tehran's Grand Bazaar over economic grievances but quickly became political and spread nationwide."

"The nights of January 8 and 9 were the deadliest, according to state officials, foreign-based NGOs and eyewitness accounts. "In the Narmak neighborhood, they [security forces] shot and killed at least five or six people in front of us," according to an eyewitness from Tehran's Narmark neighborhood cited by Amnesty International. "They have stopped using metal pellets and are shooting with live ammunition.""

Widespread internet shutdowns and blocked international calls made accessing reliable information from inside Iran difficult, leaving many families uninformed. Limited restoration of communications in recent days allowed some Iranians abroad to contact relatives and learn details. A 28-year-old protester, Mohammad Saleh Zarif Moghadam, left Tehran on January 8 to join demonstrations and did not return; his aunt said he "lost his life for freedom." Protests that began in late December over economic grievances in Tehran's Grand Bazaar quickly became political and spread nationwide. Eyewitnesses and NGOs report security forces fired live ammunition during the deadliest nights, killing multiple protesters.

Read at www.dw.com