26-Year-Old Man Killed By Police In Iran’s Ahvaz

An Iranian police officer has shot and killed a 26-year-old man in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, human rights organizations report.

The young man, identified as Hasan Zahiri, was riding his motorcycle home on February 22 when he failed to obey a police order to stop and was shot, eyewitnesses were quoted as saying.

The bullet, fired from a combat weapon, hit his head.

Zahiri was a resident of the Lashkar Abad area.

Ahvaz is the capital of Khuzestan, and oil and gas-rich province that is also home to most Iran's ethnic Arabs.

The city has been a hotspot of nationwide protests sparked by the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police, and many demonstrators in the city have been killed by security forces.

Despite a relative calm in the city in recent weeks, Zahiri's killing has reignited concerns about police brutality and excessive use of force.

Iranian authorities have unleashed a brutal crackdown on the widespread anti-government demonstrations.

More than 520 people have been killed and over 19,000 others have been detained in connection with the protests so far, activists say.

Following unlawful detentions and biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.