Iran: Authorities apparently forced relatives of Nika Shakarami to make false statements

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Posters at a women's rights demonstration for the late Nika Shakarami in Düsseldorf (October 8)

Photo: IMAGO/Ying Tang / IMAGO/NurPhoto

She was missing for several days after alleged pursuit by Iranian security authorities, then the body of 16-year-old Nika Shakarami turned up in Tehran.

Shakarami's apparently violent death could be further evidence of the Iranian government's brutal crackdown on the protests that have been smoldering for weeks.

A video reported by the BBC now substantiates the suspicion that the regime of the spiritual leader Ali Khamenei is trying to cover up the perpetrators behind Shakarami's death.

Accordingly, Shakarami's aunt and uncle, Atash and Mohsen, are said to have been forced to testify that the deaths of the young people were due to an accident.

Shakarami's aunt recently said in a video sequence broadcast on state television that her niece had died after falling from a building.

According to the BBC, her uncle was critical of the mass protests in the country.

But before the uncle's statement, a voice can be heard in the background of the video, which gives the instruction in a whisper: "Say it, you bastard!" According to the BBC, the two are said to have been threatened with the murder of other family members in order to testify blackmail.

Different versions about Shakarami's death

The relatives of Shakarami were apparently in the focus of the authorities after Atash published information about her niece's death on the Internet and spoke to the media.

For example, the aunt said the deceased was initially held for five days by the Revolutionary Guards before being handed over to the prison authorities.

The authorities' version, on the other hand, is different: Shakarami was seen in a building on the night of the disappearance and was dead in the courtyard the next day.

Justice officer Mohammad Shahriari emphasized that her death had nothing to do with the current protests.

The serious injuries determined by autopsy also indicated that Shakarami had fallen, it was said.

According to the BBC, however, a death certificate issued by a Tehran cemetery suggests otherwise.

Shakarami, it said, died after being hit multiple times with a hard object.

It would probably only be one of dozens of cases in which the regime used deadly force against dissidents during the most recent wave of protests: According to human rights organizations, more than 150 people have been killed so far.

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