TEHRAN: Iran has indicted 11 people over the murder of a Basij paramilitary force member during a ceremony last week in honour of a slain protester, a judiciary official said Saturday.
The incident happened on November 3 in Karaj, capital of Alborz province, when mourners were paying tribute to Hadis Najafi at the cemetery to mark 40 days after she was killed in the city.
Her death on September 21 came five days into nationwide protests that erupted after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, following her arrest for an alleged breach of Iran's hijab dress rules for women.
Eleven people, including a woman, had been summoned and charged over the killing of Basij member Ruhollah Ajamian, said Alborz province's judiciary chief Hossein Fazeli Harikandi.
The indictments followed an investigation launched after images posted on social media networks showed "a group of rioters assaulting and killing" Ajamian, the judiciary's Mizan Online website quoted him as saying.
"Rioters attacked this security officer, who was unarmed, stripped him naked, stabbed him with knives, beat him with brass knuckles, stones, and kicks, and then dragged his naked and half-dead body on the asphalt street and between cars in a horrific manner," Harikandi added.
Some face charges of "corruption on earth", one of the most serious offenses under Iranian law which is punishable by death.
They are also accused of serious disturbance of public order leading to murder, gathering with the intention to commit crimes against the country's security, and propaganda against the state.
Amini, 22, died on September 16 in the custody of the morality police three days after falling into a coma, sparking street violence across the Islamic republic.
Dozens of people, mainly demonstrators but also security personnel, have been killed during the demonstrations, which the authorities have dubbed "riots", and hundreds more have been arrested.
The Basij is a state-sanctioned volunteer force that is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran charges 11 over killing of Basij paramilitary member
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Iran charges 11 over killing of Basij paramilitary member
At least 9 dead in Madagascar as Tropical Cyclone Gezani hits the Indian Ocean island
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar: At least nine people died in the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar after Tropical Cyclone Gezani made landfall, unleashing winds in excess of 195 kph (121 mph), authorities said Wednesday.
Madagascar’s weather service issued red alerts for several regions, warning of possible floods and landslides as Gezani moves across the largely poor country of 31 million people.
The National Office for Risk and Disaster Management said at least nine people have died due to building collapses and at least 19 have been injured.
The cyclone made landfall in the eastern city of Toamasina, the island’s main port, which sustained severe damage, residents told The Associated Press.
Madagascar President Michael Randrianirina, who took power in a military coup in October, visited Toamasina to survey damage and meet residents, according to videos posted on the Facebook page of the president’s office.
“It’s devastation. Roofs have been blown away, walls have collapsed, power poles are down, trees have been uprooted. It looks like a catastrophic landscape,” Toamasina resident Michel, who gave only his first name, said by phone.
Gezani was forecast to move across Madagascar from east to west on Wednesday, though the system had weakened to a tropical storm with wind speeds of around 110 kph (68 mph), according to the national weather service.
The storm passed around 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the capital, Antananarivo, which is one of the regions under a red alert warning for possible flooding.
Gezani hit less than two weeks after Tropical Cyclone Fytia killed 14 people in Madagascar, according to the risk and disaster management agency.
