The relatives of a young man gunned down by police in Iran could only bury his clothes after officials refused to hand over his body.
Items of clothing belonging to deceased Mahmoud Ahmadi were symbolically buried in his hometown, Izeh, on 30th December.
Before the ceremony, his mother had appeared on camera begging officials to hand over his body, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.
Mahmoud, 21, was allegedly shot dead by police during a so-called “anti-terrorist operation” in Izeh, Khuzestan Province, on 20th December.
Another man, identified as Hassan Saeedi, was killed during the operation, while a third, named as Mujahid Korkur, was arrested.
Officials in Iran went after the three men claiming they had opened fire on demonstrators in Izeh on 16th November, killing three.
However, families of the deceased have claimed that their relatives were, in fact, shot dead by security forces.
Mahmoud was an airman stationed at Havanirooz 1st Combat Base in Dorudfaraman, Kermanshah County.
He was an Ismaili Muslim.
Ismailism is a Shia sect whose adherents believe the son of the sixth imam, Ismail, was the rightful seventh imam.
Most Iranians belong to the principal sect of Shia Islam, known as Twelver Shiism.
There have been reports of discrimination against Ismailis in Iran. However, most incidents have been attributed to individuals rather than the clerical regime.
Protests broke out in Iran on 16th September after morality police fatally beat 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini for wearing her hijab “improperly”.
At least 476 protesters have been killed, while at least 100 are facing execution, or death-penalty charges or sentences, according to the non-profit Iran Human Rights.