Published by Ekurd.net, May 8, 2015
MAHABAD, Iranian Kurdistan,— Protests continue in Mahabad city of Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhelat) after a young Kurdish woman committed suicide to avoid rape by intelligence officers.
Farinaz Khosrawani, 25, jumped off the fourth storey of the Tara Hotel, where she worked, when Iranian intelligence (Itilaat) officers attempted to rape her at 6 pm local time Thursday.
While the Iranian regime has declared state of emergency, the city has been surrounded by soldiers.
Two people have reportedly been killed and at least 27 wounded in the crackdown Iranian security forces staged on protesters after the incident. A number of people are reported to have been detained.
Iranian security forces withdraw from riot area in Mahabad
The office of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has ordered security forces to avoid clashing with demonstrators and withdraw from the area where angry protesters torched a hotel in downtown Mahabad Thursday afternoon.
The Iranian security forces have withdrawn from the area around Tara Hotel where a female employee named Farinaz Khosrawani, jumped to her death to avoid “rape by a security officer,”
Thousands of residents of Mahabd took to the streets of Mahabad after a call from opposition women’s rights activists to protest Farinza’s death.
Eyewitnesses told Rudaw that as a result of confrontations with the police and the use of tear gas 18 people have been injured.
“The mayor’s office and the office of the president believe that protecting people’s lives is more important than the hotel,” an official inside Mahabad mayor’s office told Rudaw.
While clashes broke out between security forces and the people who demanded the disclosure and trial of those responsible for Xosrowanî’s suicide, protesters set fire to the hotel after 10 people were wounded in the crackdown.
It has been reported that Tebrizli Hotel director Seyid Murteza Haşimi, whom the people hold responsible for the attempt of rape against Xosrowanî, has been detained by police.
Having remained silent during the protest, Iranian officials started making statements after the hotel was set on fire by protesters.
A statement published on the official page of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani demanded that light be shed on the incident urgently.
Protests are reported to be continuing despite the call Iranian authorities in Mahabad have issued for calm.
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