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Iranian security forces in Tehran (icon image)
Photo: REUTERS/Wana News Agency
A man in Iran is said to have been killed after celebrating the Iranian national team's elimination from the World Cup in Qatar, according to human rights groups.
According to the Oslo-based human rights organization Iran Human Rights (IHR), 27-year-old Mehran Samak was "shot in the head by security forces" after the defeat by the United States.
The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) also reported that Samak was killed by security forces while he was celebrating.
Iran was eliminated from the competition on Tuesday after a 1-0 defeat by the USA.
From the outset, Iran's appearances at the World Cup were marked by the protests at home that have shaken the country since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish girl Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the vice squad in mid-September.
The players had been heavily criticized by many fans at home because they didn't distance themselves, or at least didn't distance themselves clearly enough from the regime's violence against the protesters.
The silence at the national anthem against England was then perceived as too late and too little as an expression of sympathy with the protests.
The departure of the team was therefore also celebrated by many Iranians at home.
On social media, people shared images of fans dancing and setting off fireworks in the streets, apparently mainly in Kurdish cities.
Kurdish human rights group Hengaw reported that at least 30 people were allegedly shot and wounded by security forces during the celebrations in Marivan, Sanandaj, Kermanshah, Saqqez, Ilam and Bukan.
According to the human rights organizations, 27-year-old Mehran Samak honked his horn in his car in the town of Bandar Ansali on the Caspian Sea before he was shot.
CHRI released a video of Samak's funeral.
Mourners can be heard shouting “Death to the dictator”.
The slogan is directed against the spiritual leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and is often heard in the nationwide protests.
It is estimated that at least 300 people have died in protests in Iran since mid-September.
Almost 20,000 demonstrators are said to have been arrested.
ara/AFP/AP