Iran: Haleh Sahabi dies at funeral of Ezatollah Sahabi

[pampango]

Source: BBC

An Iranian opposition activist has died after scuffles with security forces at her father's funeral. Haleh Sahabi, 55, had been allowed out of prison to attend the funeral of Ezatollah Sahabi, a former Iranian MP and prominent dissident.

Her son, Yahya Shamekhi, said she had become upset after security officials tried to stop the ceremony and is thought to have had a heart attack. Funerals involving other opposition figures have also been broken up.

"When we took the body of my grandfather out for the funeral ceremony, officials tried to stop the ceremony - that made the atmosphere very agitated," he said. "Finally they forcefully grabbed the body and took it away. Then my mother fell down and become unconscious. The doctor told us she died because of a heart attack."

Another witness told the BBC: "Following the uprisings in the Middle East, the Iranian government is very nervous about people's gatherings for any reasons, particularly if it is related to an opposition figure." Ms Sahabi, a member of the "Mothers for Peace" group and a campaigner for women's rights, was one of a group of government critics who were arrested in front of the parliament during President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's swearing-in ceremony. She was sentenced to two years in prison.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13613032

[alp227]

1. Britain asks Iran to investigate death of women's rights activist Haleh Sahabi

Britain has called on Iran to launch an immediate investigation into the death of Haleh Sahabi, the daughter of a veteran Iranian dissident who died during scuffles with security forces at her father's funeral on Wednesday.

Sahabi was leading the procession at the ceremony by holding a picture of her father, Ezatollah Sahab. She died from a heart attack after reportedly being attacked by an agent and falling down.

The Foreign Office (FCO) has joined the US state department and human rights organisations in urging Iran to carefully look into the case.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/02/haleh-sahabi-iran-womens-rights-activist