An Iranian man died by suicide in France’s southeastern city of Lyon on Tuesday. The man took the step after announcing on social media that he was going to kill himself to ensure that the world pays attention to the reported crackdown on women protestors in Iran.
Mohammad Moradi, 38, was found in the Rhone river that flows through the centre of Lyon late on Monday, an anonymous police source was quoted as saying by the news agency AFP. The police source further told AFP that the emergency services made an immediate intervention but were unable to revive him on the river bank.
Moradi had posted a video on Instagram saying he was about to drown himself to highlight the crackdown on protesters in Iran that began after the custodial death of 22-year-old Mahsa Al-Amini after she reportedly violated the prescribed dress code for women in the country.
“When you see this video, I will be dead,” Moradi said in French.
“The police are attacking people, we have lost a lot of sons and daughters, we have to do something,” Moradi said in the video.
“I decided to commit suicide in the Rhone river. It is a challenge, to show that we, Iranian people, are very tired of this situation,” he added.
An investigation has been launched to “verify the theory of suicide, in view in particular of the messages posted by the person concerned on social networks announcing his intention”, according to the Lyon prosecutors quoted by AFP.
A small rally in Moradi’s remembrance also took place on the banks of Rhone. Mourners placed candles and wreaths on the riverside railings.
“Mohammad Moradi killed himself to make the voice of revolution heard in Iran. Our voice is not carried by Western media,” Timothee Amini of the local Iranian community told AFP.
‘His heart was beating for Iran’
Moradi was reportedly a history undergraduate and worked in a restaurant. He lived in Lyon with his wife for three years.
“His heart was beating for Iran, he could no longer bear the regime,” said Amini.
Protests have gripped Iran for over three months.
The Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said on Tuesday that 476 protesters have been killed in the violent crackdown with at least 100 Iranians facing execution over the protests. So far, two young men have already been executed.
(With inputs from agencies)
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