Death of Iranian activist who burned picture of supreme leader causes outcry (www.theguardian.com)
from MicroWave@lemmy.world to world@lemmy.world on 08 Nov 19:14
https://lemmy.world/post/38525468

Iran’s police say Omid Sarlak, 22, shot himself, but fellow activists suspect he may have been killed for his views

The death of a young Iranian man who had filmed himself burning a photograph of the country’s supreme leader has sparked a war of words between state media and activists over how he died.

Government-sanctioned news websites reported that Omid Sarlak, who was in his 20s, had been found in his car on Saturday in western Iran with a gunshot wound to his head and traces of gunpowder on his hands. Iranian police said Sarlak had “died by suicide”.

But anti-government media and activists say the timing of the death, so soon after he made a public outcry against the government, raises suspicions about whether he was killed for his views.

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