Aryamehr

Aryamehr · at 8:46 PM

Angel of Freedom - Neda Agha-Soltan killed by the Islamic Republic occupying Iran

SIGN NEDA'S ONLINE MEMORIAL BOOK

Neda slumps to the ground after being shot during Saturday's demonstrations

Iranian men trying to help a wounded woman named 'Neda' after getting shot in the chest during a protest in Tehran at the weekend

The bleeding teenager is helped by the two demonstrators

Blood pours from a head wound. It is clear Neda has lost her brief fight for life.

Neda's resting place. The terrorist Islamic Republic did not allow any gathering for the burial and have banned any commemoration of Neda.

A woman looks up at the camera as she lies dying on the streets of Tehran after Saturday's democracy protests. Blood starts to pour from her mouth and her nose. Her eyes roll back as men scramble vainly to keep her alive. The woman, named today as 27-year-old Neda Agha-Soltan, had been shot through the heart. She died within minutes. Foreign media are banned from reporting on 'non-official' events in Iran and dozens of journalists have been arrested or deported in the latest crisis. But the video of the woman bleeding to death has been broadcast across the globe via the internet and has become a rallying point for protesters. Neda slumps to the ground after being shot during Saturday's demonstrations

It has been posted on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook and has become a rallying point for anti-government protesters inside Iran and around the world. Her name even became a 'trending topic' on Twitter, showing that had become one of the most-repeated words on the microblogging site. Tribute websites have also begun to spring up. Reports say Neda was watching Saturday’s protests with her father when she was shot by Iran’s militia. A message posted with the original YouTube video alleges she was intentionally shot through the chest by a Basij member hiding on a rooftop. 'He had clear shot at the girl and could not miss her. However, he aimed straight her heart.' 'I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her. But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet had blasted inside the victim's chest, and she died in less than two minutes.

'The protests were going on about one kilometre away in the main street and some of the protesting crowd were running from tear gas used among them, towards Salehi Street.' 'Neda' in Farsi means 'the call' or 'the voice'. A website linked to opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi named the woman as 27-year-old Neda Agha Soltan. Mousavi warned supporters of danger ahead, and said he would stand by the protesters 'at all times.' But in the website letters, he said he would 'never allow anybody's life to be endangered because of my actions' and called for pursuing fraud claims through an independent board.The former prime minister, a longtime loyalist of the Islamic government, also called the Basij and military 'our brothers' and 'protectors of our revolution and regime.

He may be trying to constrain his followers' demands before they pose a mortal threat to Iran's system of limited democracy constrained by Shia clerics, who have ultimate authority.

Iranian-Americans in Los Angeles hold signs to identify with a girl known as Neda, believed to be a teenager, who was shot dead in Tehran

BBC Persia has interviewed Neda’s fiance. Nico in Huffington Post has got a translated transcript from readers:

Caspian Makan, Neda Agha-Setan’s fiancee, was interviewed by BBC Persia, noting that Neda would have turned 27 this year. “Neda’s goal was not Mousavi or Ahmadinejad, it was her country and was important for her to fight for this goal. She had said many times that if she had lost her life or been shot in the heart, which indeed what happened, it was important for her to continue in this path,” he said.

Considering her young age she has taught a lesson to us all.

About the day of the incident, Mr. Makan said: “When the clashes were occurring, Neda was far away from the demonstrations, she was in one of the side alleys near Amir Abad. Thirsty and tired or being cooped up for about an hour in the car in heavy traffic with her music instructor, she finally gets out of the car and, based on the pictures sent in by the people, armed forces in civilian clothes and the Basiji targeted and shot her in the heart.”

“It was over in a matter of minutes, the Shariati Hospital was nearby, the people around her tried to bring her to the emergency room by car, but before that could even happen she died in her instructor’s arms.”

Mr. Makan added: “We got her body back finally yesterday with some diffculties. Of course, her body was not at the Tehran Coroner but at a one outside of Tehran. The medical examiners wanted parts of her body, including a portion of her femoral bone but the chief medical examiner would not say why and no explanations were ever given.”

“Finally the family consented just so they could get her body back as soon as possible, since just this issue could have resulted in delaying the reception of the body. We buried the body in a small area in the Zahra Cemetery in the late afternoon of 31 Khordad. Also, they had brought in other people who had been killed in the protests so it seemed that the whole event was scheduled to be such.”

About payment for releasing the remains, Mr. Makan had this to say: “No specific amount has been paid at this time, although hospitals, clinics, surgeons and medical examiners have been ordered by the Iranian security services, based on various orders, not to list ‘bullet wound’ as the cause of death on the death certificate in order to prevent the families from filing international complaints in the future. I haven’t seen the release notice of Neda’s remains yet, but I will obtain it from her father in the coming days.”

Mr. Makan regarding government ban of memorial service for Neda Agha Setan said: “We were going to hold her memorial Monday 1st of Tir at 2:30 PM at a mosque at Sharyati street north of Seyed Khandan. But Basijis and mosque officials refused our request for her memorial service so to avoid further public confrontation and instability. They knew that Neda died innocently, and people in Iran and the international community are informed of that fact. So they decided to avoid a situation where a mass rally would take place. In any way, we do not have permission for a memorial service for now.”

However, many eye witnesses told BBC Persia that a large gathering took place with the intention of performing a memorial service at Al Reza Mosque at Nilofar square in Tehran. But the security forces intervened by throwing people out of the mosque and intervening with the service.

Mr. Makan also commented on fake pictures of videos claiming to be Neda at various sites:”I was looking at some sites including ‘iReport’. There was a picture of a young woman with green signs from previous calm demonstrations and had claimed it was Neda before being shot. These pictures have no relation to the event. It seems that Mr. Mousavi’s supporters are trying to portray Neda as one of his supporters. This is not so. Neda was incredibly close to me and she was never supportive of either two groups. Neda wanted freedom and freedom for all.”

BBC Persian tried to contact Neda Agha-Sultan’s other family members but was told by a close relative of hers that, for reasons of their own, the Agha Sultan family couldn't grant an interview.