Mehrshad Shahidi, 19, beaten to death while being held in jail

Mehrshad Shahidi, 19, was beaten to death by the country’s Revolutionary Guard, the day before his 20th birthday amid the ongoing anti-hijab demonstrations in Iran. Thousands of people came to the streets on Saturday to attend Mr. Shahidi’s burial as a result of his “ruthless” murder, which sparked a nationwide outpouring.

The now-deceased celebrity chef was reportedly held in a prison facility run by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence. The 19-year-old chef was killed, according to his family, after being hit in the head with a baton. The officials have stated that he died of a heart attack despite the fact that his family members claimed his skull was fractured.

One of Mehrshad’s relatives stated, “We have been pressured by the dictatorship to pretend that he died of a heart attack. However, our son lost his life as a result of sustaining baton blows to his head following his detention.” During Shahidi’s funeral on Saturday, thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to the tragedy. The protesters chanted, “Thousands more will support everyone who is killed.”

As per 7News, Iran’s Chief Justice Abdolmehdi Mousavi even said that there were “no signs” of fractures in his arms, legs or skull or any brain injury. 

Mehrshad Shahidi had 25000 followers on Instagram and had posted quite a few videos of him cooking. “He was a talented young chef at Boote Restaurant. He was ruthlessly killed by security forces in Iran. Tomorrow would have been his 20th birthday. We will never forget it. We will never forgive”, Iranian American author Dr. Nina Ansary was quoted saying.

In the meantime, hundreds of people are said to have been killed by Iranian security forces during the protests that started after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died while being held by Iran’s morality police after being detained for improperly donning her hijab. The protest movement, however, has been portrayed by Iranian officials as a plan by its bitter rival, the United States.

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