A Norway-based human rights organization said Iranian security forces killed a 27-year-old man who was celebrating his nation's loss Tuesday to the U.S. men's national soccer team at the World Cup.
Iran Human Rights, a nongovernmental organization in Oslo, tweeted Wednesday that Mehran Samak "was shot in the head by state forces" in the northern city of Bandar Anzali while celebrating Iran's 1-0 loss to the U.S. in Qatar. The BBC reported activists said Samak was shot after honking his car horn.
A funeral service was held Thursday but without Samak's body. Iran Human Rights tweeted, "The Islamic Republic's Forensic Medical Organisation is refusing to return #MehranSamak's body to his family despite a crowd of people gathering outside the building to support them."
Iran has been rocked with anti-government protests since the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in custody of the regime's morality police after she was accused of not wearing a hijab appropriate with the government's standards. It was widely reported Amini was a victim of police brutality.
The Islamic regime responded to the protests with a violent crackdown, in which Iran Human Rights said Monday at least 448 people have been killed since the protests began, including 60 children and 29 women.
"In the last week alone, more than 16 people were killed by repressive forces in Iran," the group said. "Of those, 12 were killed in Kurdish areas. A number of those killed in previous weeks have been included following verification."
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