By G9ija
After Iran’s national team lost to the US and was eliminated from the World Cup, anti-government protests were taking place inside and outside the stadium in Qatar as well as throughout Iran when security forces shot and killed an Iranian man.
Human rights activists claim that Mehran Samak, 27, was shot dead after honking his car horn in Bandar Anzali, a city on the Caspian Sea coast north of Tehran.
Samak “was targeted directly and shot in the head by security force following the defeat of the national team against America”, said the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights.
The contest between the two nations, which cut diplomatic ties more than 40 years ago, took place against a backdrop of violent repression in Iran following protests sparked by Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, who died in custody in September, who had been the target of those protests.
According to IHR, the security forces in Iran have killed at least 448 people during their repression of the protests, including 60 minors under the age of 18 and 29 women.
In an amazing turn of events, Iranian international midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi, who represented Iran against the United States and is from Bandar Anzali, revealed that he knew Samak and shared a photo of the two of them playing youth football.
“After last night’s bitter loss, the news of your passing set fire to my heart,” said Ezatolahi on Instagram, describing Samak as a “childhood teammate.”
He added: “Some day the masks will fall, the truth will be laid bare. “This is not what our youth deserve. This is not what our nation deserves.”
After the final whistle, Ezatolahi, who was upset by the outcome, was seen receiving consolation from both his teammates and the US athletes.
After the game on Tuesday night, video posted on social media showed crowds cheering and lighting off fireworks, despite the fact that many Iranians had refused to support the national team.
Samak was killed by the security forces while celebrating, according to the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran.
A video from Samak’s funeral in Tehran, where mourners could be heard yelling “death to the dictator,” was released by CHRI on Wednesday. One of the main protest chants is directed at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran.
