Iran reportedly arrests family of man killed in fuel price ‘riots’

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has arrested the family of a young man killed in street violence that flared during last month’s protests against fuel price hikes, Mehr news agency reports.

The family of Pouya Bakhtiari, who was “killed suspiciously during the recent riots,” had been invited for talks with authorities, Mehr says, citing what it calls an informed source.

They were found to have been “carrying out a counter-revolutionary project” and “anti-structural activities,” says the agency, which is close to moderate conservatives in Iran.

“Consequently, these elements were arrested by a judicial order in order to protect the order and the security of the honorable people and others damaged by the rioters,” it says, without specifying which family members were taken into custody.

Bakhtiari was reportedly killed in Karaj city, west of Tehran, in street violence that erupted in mid-November during nationwide protests over a shock decision to hike petrol prices by as much as 200 percent. He was 27.

His Instagram account, which is now reportedly run by his father, announced a ceremony marking 40 days since his death would be held at Karaj cemetery on Thursday.

It is still active with more than 18,000 followers today.

Officials in Iran have yet to issue an overall death toll for the unrest, but international human rights group Amnesty International has put the number at more than 300.

An Iranian security official rejected a foreign media report yesterday that the figure was as high as 1,500, saying it was based on “false propaganda.”

— AFP