Iranian Intelligence agency known as Etelaat on Monday arrested family members of Pouya Bakhtiari, a young protester who was shot to death by the regime on November 16 in Karaj.
The arrest came after family of Bakhtiari called on people to attend a ceremony at the day 40th of the death of Bakhtiari to commemorate their beloved son.
There are a few important days after a funeral based on Iranian traditions. One of these days is known as “Chehelom (day 40th),” which would be held by family members 40 days after the death of loved ones.
Iran’s State Media Mehr News Agency reported on Tuesday that “to maintain security and order and to protect people who had faced harm and loss" and to avoid "recurrence of armed action against people,” family members of Bakhtiari were arrested.
The family of Bakhtiari raised their voice and spoke with foreign media about the death of their son.
In a meeting at the State Department in Washington before the members of Iranian diaspora, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned the name of Bakhtiari as a “young man full of life.”
“One of those young men was Pouya Bakhtiari. Pouya was an electrical engineer full of life, who loved singing the Elvis song, ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love with You,’ and he was sick of what he called criminal and corrupt Iranian leadership,” Pompeo said.
“last month, he joined his countrymen on the streets in protest. Pouya’s mother, Nahid, went to the protest with him. They promised that they would hold hands to stay together, but as you’ve watched the videos, you’ve seen there was chaos. And when the security forces started attacking a crowd – the crowd, they became separated,” US Secretary of State added.
Iranian people in more than 100 cities and towns stormed into the streets in mid-November, protesting over fuel price hikes that were decided by the government overnight. Iranian armed forces brutally cracked down on protesters and killed and wounded thousands of them.
In a special shocking report, Reuters revealed on Monday that Islamic Republic Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered his top security officials to end the protests in November, which resulted in 1500 deaths.
