06/02/2011
The United States on Wednesday demanded the Iranian government investigate the death of the daughter of a veteran opposition figure who died during her father’s funeral.
“We call on the Iranian government to investigate the circumstances of her death,” State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.
“If reports are accurate, that government security forces contributed to her death, this would demonstrate a deplorable disregard for human dignity and respect on the part of the Iranian authorities,” he added.
The Iranian opposition website Kaleme.com reported that Haleh Sahabi, 54, a political and social activist, died from cardiac arrest when she was confronted by security forces during the funeral of her father, Ezatollah Sahabi.
Kaleme.com, the website of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, quoting Haleh’s son Yahya Shamekhi said she was protesting at the security forces halting the funeral procession and taking her father’s body.
According to Haleh’s uncle quoted by Kaleme, the woman died due to “the beating given to her, (which) were severe.”
Toner added: “Both Haleh and her father suffered in life for their political activism, including imprisonment. Ms. Sahabi was, in fact, on leave from prison for her father’s funeral when she died.”