Kurdish Tradesman Killed Before Brother’s Eyes
According to the human rights activist, on the morning of Saturday, May 4, the Police Special Forces Unit engaged in hot pursuit of a car on the road from Saveh to Tehran. After the pursued vehicle skidded off the road and turned over, the police surrounded the car and arrested the driver. During the arrest of Mehdi Abdollahi Nasab, a Kurdish citizen of Paveh, the police beat him severely and confiscated several cartons containing foreign-made cell phones from the car.
A local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that as a result of shots fired on the vehicle of a group of Kurdish tradesmen (kasebkar) by the Arak Police Special Forces Unit on the road between Saveh (140 kilomters outside of Tehran) and Tehran, a Kurdish tradesman was killed and another individual has been injured. The murdered tradesman’s brother, a witness to the incident who was arrested at the scene, has been released only after posting bail of about $400,000.
According to the human rights activist, on the morning of Saturday, May 4, the Police Special Forces Unit engaged in hot pursuit of a car on the road from Saveh to Tehran. After the pursued vehicle skidded off the road and turned over, the police surrounded the car and arrested the driver. During the arrest of Mehdi Abdollahi Nasab, a Kurdish citizen of Paveh, the police beat him severely and confiscated several cartons containing foreign-made cell phones from the car.
The tradesman’s brother, Nabi Abdollahi Nasab, and another individual by the name of Saleh Salehifar who were in another vehicle behind the first car, stopped after witnessing the scene. Even though these two individuals did not have any goods in their car, the police fired shots at them, hitting Nabi Abdollahi Nasab four times in the head and killing him, and injuring Saleh Salehifar.
After Mehdi Abdollahi Nasab’s brother, Nabi, was killed before his eyes, the Saveh Prosecutor orders his transfer to Saveh Central Prison and issues bail orders of about $400,000 for his release. The Abdollahi Nasab family’s request for a bail amount reduction, so that he could be released to attend his brother’s funeral services, was rejected by the Prosecutor. Mehdi Abdollahi Nasab was temporarily released on Monday, May 13 after posting bail.
