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Politics

Mohammad Ghaemifar: The Iranian Goalkeeper Shot From Behind In A Blind Alley

November 9, 2022
3 min read
The 22-year-old goalkeeper Mohammad Ghaemifar was hit by more than 40 pellets.
The 22-year-old goalkeeper Mohammad Ghaemifar was hit by more than 40 pellets.
Mohammad Ghaemifar remained in a coma for 15 days before passing away.
Mohammad Ghaemifar remained in a coma for 15 days before passing away.
Mohammad Ghaemifar’s family were forced to say that he was a member of the paramilitary Basij force killed by “thugs.”
Mohammad Ghaemifar’s family were forced to say that he was a member of the paramilitary Basij force killed by “thugs.”

On October 22 in the Iranian city of Dezful, western Khuzestan province, security forces shot at 22-year-old goalkeeper Mohammad Ghaemifar from behind. More than 40 pellets entered his skull and his neck. He died in the hospital 15 days later.

Born on May 11, 2004, Ghaemifar was playing for Dezful’s Jondishapur Omid Football team. He was set to join the Zob Ahan Omid team in Fuladshahr, in the central province of Isfahan.

His death after a two-week coma put an end to his dream to play with the national team, a person close to his family tells IranWire.

“They shot him in the head at around 2 p.m. but the security agents closed off the blind alley [where he was shot] and would not allow anybody to get close to him. Even his identity remained unknown.”

When Mohammad was finally taken to hospital, his heart had stopped beating, the source said. It started beating again after he was administered electric shots, but the young man did not wake up from his coma.

Mohammad’s identity became known when his sister called his mobile phone: “They told his sister he had been injured in a traffic accident and taken to hospital. When his sister arrived at the hospital, she found out that he had been shot and was in a coma.”

A CT scan shows that more than 40 shotgun pellets penetrated his head and his neck: “They all contradicted each other. One said he suffered a concussion when he fell while trying to escape. Another said his spinal cord was hit by a birdshot. And yet another one said that he was [injured] in a traffic accident. They told his family that they must stay silent and not talk if they wanted him to be treated in the hospital; otherwise, they would discharge him.”

In order to save Ghaemifar’s life, his family stayed silent until November 6, when the doctors noticed Mohammad had died, according to the IranWire source. The doctors were not allowed to inform the family, so they only learned about Ghaemifar’s death three hours later when they came to the hospital.

The family was again forced into silence, the source says: “They put a piece of paper in front of them and said ‘if you want the body of your son, you must sign this paper and testify that he was a Basiji (eds: member of the Basij paramilitary force) and was killed by thugs.’”

The family was forced to sign the paper and threatened that if they spoke to the media about it, they would be arrested.

“Mohammad’s family was waiting for his body to be turned over to them so they could bury him, but then they found out that security agents wanted to bury him at 2 a.m. in a remote place outside the city,” the source says.

Eventually, after repeated pleadings and promising that there would be no ceremonies for their love one, the body was turned over at 4 a.m. and buried one hour later.

“Mohammad lost his father three years ago,” says the source. “His wish was to become a footballer and always said that ‘I will get to the National Team.’”

Instead, Mohammad Ghaemifar’s name is among the long list of victims of the Islamic Republic.

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