Son's Death Has Iranian Family Asking Why

[WillyT]

Son's Death Has Iranian Family Asking Why
By FARNAZ FASSIHI
JUNE 23, 2009

<snip>

TEHRAN—The family, clad in black, stood at the curb of the road sobbing. A middle-aged mother slapped her cheeks, letting out piercing wails. The father, a frail man who worked as a doorman at a clinic in central Tehran, wept quietly with his head bowed. Minutes before, an ambulance had arrived from Tehran's morgue carrying the body of their only son, 19-year-old Kaveh Alipour.

On Saturday, amid the most violent clashes between security forces and protesters, Mr. Alipour was shot in the head as he stood at an intersection in downtown Tehran. He was returning from acting class and a week shy of becoming a groom, his family said. The details of his death remain unclear. He had been alone. Neighbors and relatives think that he got trapped in the crossfire. He wasn't politically active and hadn't taken part in the turmoil that has rocked Iran for over a week, they said.

"He was a very polite, shy young man," said Mohamad, a neighbor who has known him since childhood.

When Mr. Alipour didn't return home that night, his parents began to worry. All day, they had heard gunshots ringing in the distance. His father, Yousef, first called his fiancée and friends. No one had heard from him. At the crack of dawn, his father began searching at police stations, then hospitals and then the morgue.

Upon learning of his son's death, the elder Mr. Alipour was told the family had to pay an equivalent of $3,000 as a "bullet fee"—a fee for the bullet used by security forces—before taking the body back, relatives said.

Mr. Alipour told officials that his entire possessions wouldn't amount to $3,000, arguing they should waive the fee because he is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war. According to relatives, morgue officials finally agreed, but demanded that the family do no funeral or burial in Tehran. Kaveh Alipour's body was quietly transported to the city of Rasht, where there is family.

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More: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124571865270639351.html

[rainbow4321]

1. In an article about Neda and her family---the morgue doc took her FEMUR

The "doctor" repeatedly asked to cut off and take her leg, finally the family agreed because by not allowing it the transfer of her body to them was being delayed.
WTF are these morgue people up to?? Black market on body parts, maybe? Are they blackmailing the families ('give us the body part we want or you don't get the body'???).
Apparently, government officials are demanding that any gunshot death certificate or cause of death NOT be listed as death by gunshot-- reportedly in attempt to avoid any kind of prosecution later on if this whole mess doesn't quite go their way.

These poor families...loved ones murdered and then they are fucked over by the morgue/gov. officials.

[WillyT]

2. Yep... I Read That Too...

Unbelievable.