11 August 2005 -- The U.S.-based organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) today urged Iranian authorities to investigate the killing of at least 17 people in antigovernment protests in Iran's western Kurdistan Province in early July.
The rights organization said Iranian security forces were responsible for the killings and that their indiscriminate shooting had wounded hundreds of people.
HRW said hundreds of other people, including journalists, were arrested in the month following the incident.
Hadi Ghaemi, the Iran researcher for HRW, said the Iranian government needed to conduct a full and impartial investigation into the "violent response" and officials responsible for any excessive use of lethal force must be prosecuted.
On 9 July, Kurdish demonstrators were protesting the killing of a young Kurdish man whose brother claimed he was shot dead by security forces then dragged around the city by a military vehicle.
(AP)
HRW said hundreds of other people, including journalists, were arrested in the month following the incident.
Hadi Ghaemi, the Iran researcher for HRW, said the Iranian government needed to conduct a full and impartial investigation into the "violent response" and officials responsible for any excessive use of lethal force must be prosecuted.
On 9 July, Kurdish demonstrators were protesting the killing of a young Kurdish man whose brother claimed he was shot dead by security forces then dragged around the city by a military vehicle.
(AP)