Source: RFE/RL’s RadioFarda
A former member of Iran’s police force who resigned in protest against the suppression of demonstrators is said to have died under what colleagues say were suspicious circumstances.
Medical officials in the southwestern Iranian province of Ilam confirmed the death of Mansureh Sagvand, a law student from Abadan who had previously resigned from her collaboration with the Law Enforcement Force.
The official news agency IRNA quoted Seydnour Alimoradi, the head of the pre-hospital emergency department of Ilam University, as saying the cause of Sagvand’s death was “cardiac and respiratory arrest”.
But friends of Sagvand said they doubted the official report.
Issa Baziar, a civil activist from Abadan living abroad, revealed on his Twitter page that Sagvand, died after being released from detention.
Meanwhile, Sagvand herself had reported a death threat on her Instagram account just hours before she perished, writing: “They scare us with death, as if we are alive. Forever and ever, my life is a sacrifice for the homeland. Long live Iran.”
This incident follows numerous reports of “suspicious deaths” during recent nationwide protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody for a dress-code offense last September.
The Twitter account “Voice of Shahrivar,” which covers protest news, noted that Sagvand was formerly a member of the Law Enforcement Force and that she cut off cooperation with this entity during the recent nationwide protests. She had been in custody for a while, it said, without giving a specific time period.
An Instagram account under the name “Mansoreh Sagvand” featured a picture of her in the uniform of women working in the Law Enforcement Force.
“I am Mansureh Sagvand from Lorestan, I used to work in the honorary police of the Law Enforcement Force of Khorramabad. From now on, I will not have any cooperation with the armed forces and I will proudly stay with my compatriots,” the caption read.
Following widespread reactions among Iranian social network users regarding the suspicious death of Sagvand, IRNA dismissed the speculation as “baseless” and attributed the rumors to “opposition media.”
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda
