Sane Jaleh ( fa, صانع ژاله, ''Sāne jāle'') also Sanea Jaleh, Saneh Jaleh, or Sani Zhaleh (May 22, 1985 – February 14, 2011) was an Iranian student at the University of Arts. He was one of two students shot dead during the February 14, 2011

demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Demonstration (political), a political rally or prot ...

in support of Egyptians and

Tunisians Tunisians ( ar, تونسيون ''Tūnisiyyūn'', aeb, توانسة ''Twensa'') are the citizens and nationals of Tunisia in North Africa, who speak Tunisian Arabic and share a common Tunisian culture and identity. In addition, a Tunisian diasp ...

for ousting Presidents

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in ...

and Ben Ali, in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

. According to news reports, "rival groups" of pro- and anti-Islamic government protesters "both claim" him and the other slain protester ( Mohammad Mokhtari) "as one of their supporters."

Background

Sane Jaleh was born in

Paveh Paveh ( fa, Pâveh, ku, Pawe , پاوە, also Romanized as Pāveh, Pawah, and Pāweh) is a city and capital of Paveh County, Kermanshah Province, Iran. It is located in a region called Hawraman. The first language spoken by the population ...

in Kermanshah Province in 1985 and was a Kurdish Hewrami Iranian and

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

. At the time of his death he was in his third year of studies in the field of dramatic arts at the Department of Cinema and Theater at the University of Arts, Tehran.

Killing and controversy

Official version

On Tuesday February 15, the day after his killing, the Iranian "culture ministry's security chief" reported his death and stated that he was a "government supporter." Other pro-government news media sources reported he was a "

Basij The Basij ( fa, بسيج, lit. "The Mobilization"), Niru-ye Moghāvemat-e Basij ( fa, نیروی مقاومت بسیج, "Resistance Mobilization Force"), full name Sâzmân-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin ( fa, سازمان بسیج مستضعفین, "The ...

militia member" (a group of "plain clothes" Islamic militants noted for their attacks on opposition demonstrators with batons, metal chains and firearms) "shot by ''agents provocateurs'' controlled by various opposition groups". Pro-government sources also alleged he was killed by the opposition group Mojahedin Khalgh. On Wednesday his funeral was held with a funeral process starting at Tehran University where the state-run

IRIB The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB; fa, صدا و سيمای جمهوری اسلامی ايران, ''Sedā va Sīmā-ye Jomhūri-ye Eslāmi-ye Īrān'', , formerly called National Iranian Radio and Television until the Iranian Rev ...

reported clashes by marchers with "the sedition movement," i.e. opposition.

Hossein Shariatmadari Hossein Shariatmadari ( fa, حسین شريعتمداری) is the managing editor of ''Kayhan'', a conservative Iranian newspaper. Career A strong supporter of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he has been described as being "a close confidant of ...

, the editor of

Kayhan ''Kayhan'' ( fa, کيهان, '' en, The Cosmos'') is a newspaper published in Tehran, Iran. It is considered "the most conservative Iranian newspaper." Hossein Shariatmadari is the editor-in-chief of ''Kayhan''. According to the report of the '' ...

newspaper (which is under the supervision of the Office of the Supreme Leader), explained Jaleh's involvement in the opposition protest by asserting he was a spy for Kayhan newspaper, a claim considered "bizarre" by some.

Disputes with official version

"Friends and classmates" of Jaleh, have responded with a "counteroffensive" denying he was either a member of the Basij or a supporter of the government. Kalameh website has stated that Jaleh was a member of

Mir-Hossein Mousavi Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh ( fa, میرحسین موسوی خامنه, Mīr-Hoseyn Mūsavī Khāmené, ; born 2 March 1942) is an Iranian reformist politician, artist and architect who served as the forty-ninth and last Prime Minister of Ir ...

's election campaign team; Saham News Website has published a picture with

Ayatollah Montazeri Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri ( fa, حسینعلی منتظری‎ ; 24 September 1922 – 19 December 2009) was an Iranian Shia Islamic theologian, Islamic democracy advocate, writer and human rights activist. He was one of the l ...

and claims that one of the men in the picture is Sane Jaleh. Jaleh's alleged pro-regime outlook also does not square with his publishing of "at least one short story" in a magazine (Azma) "accused in some quarters of being a part of the `soft war` against the Islamic Republic"; his appearance in a short film (A

Brick in the Wall "Another Brick in the Wall" is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera ''The Wall,'' written by bassist Roger Waters. "Part 2", a protest song against corporal punishment, and rigid and abusive schooling, features a childre ...

) currently banned by Iranian regime due to its dissident contents; and his Kurdish and Sunni background (neither group being known for its support of the Islamic Republic). According to the source

Tehran Bureau Tehran Bureau is an online news magazine covering politics, foreign affairs, culture and society in Iran and the Iranian Diaspora. It was founded by Iranian-born journalist Kelly Golnoush Niknejad in February 2008, initially as a blog. In May 200 ...

, the official version appeared to resemble the "well-orchestrated disinformation operation" employed by the government "to blame anyone but its security forces for the death of

Neda Agha Soltan Neda may refer to: People * Neda (musician) (Tenielle Neda, born 1987), an Australian singer-songwriter * Ana-Neda, Empress consort of Bulgaria 1323–1324 * Musaed Neda (born 1983), Kuwaiti footballer * Neda Agha-Soltan (1983–2009), shot de ...

during the unrest of 2009." Suspicion has been cast on official reports of Jaleh's death by the evolution its portrayal of Jaleh first simply as a "devout student," then as a "regime sympathizer," and finally as a "full-fledged Basij militia member". The claim of his membership in the Basij was made in a statement about his death by the president of the Arts University, though in an earlier report of Jaleh's death the head of public relations for the Student Basij was quoted and made no mention of Jaleh's alleged Basij membership. A photo of Jaleh's alleged

i ID was published by

Fars News Agency The Fars News Agency is a news agency in Iran managed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an armed wing loyal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. While it describes itself as "Iran's leading independent news agency", it is widely descri ...

but came under question when a blogger "wrote that the stamp on the photo bore the name of the town of Paveh, but that the back of the card had a postal code for Tehran." The card also "had a higher serial number than those issued two years ago" despite the fact that it was dated for three years ago. In an interview with

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

, Persian, Sane Jaleh's brother stated that the government's allegations are false and without merit. He also said that his family has been put under pressure by the Iranian government to cooperate. He added that Mr. Jaleh's Basiji Identification Card was issued after his death with the help of his cousin, who works for the Ministry of Information. He further added that the regime did not hand over his brother's body to the family and that he is being buried by his murderers. Mr. Jaleh's brother was arrested after his interview with Voice of America, Persian, and is currently in prison in the town of

, in Kermanshah, Iran. According to the

International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran The Center for Human Rights in Iran (formerly the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran; ICHRI) is an American non-government organization that aims to promote human rights in Iran. The group started in late 2007 when several human rig ...

, a Wednesday 16 February funeral procession and memorial service planned for Sane Jaleh by his classmates at the Arts University campus was taken over by the Basij with "about 40 to 50" of Jaleh's classmates being "pushed ... into a corner", and held until they were told to "leave quietly and silently." A few were arrested. The BBC reported that "police forces had blocked all the roads leading to the university" the day of the funeral, "and were only allowing in pro-government supporters."

Post-funeral

On February 20 antigovernment protesters gathered in Tehran and some other parts of Iran to Iran to commemorate the deaths of Jaleh and the other protester ( Mohammad Mokhtari) killed on February 14.Iran Squelches Protest Attempt in Capital
, nyt.com 20 February 2011 According to the New York Times, "shops in Mahabad and Sanandaj were closed" after Kurds called for a general strike in response to the death of Jaleh. Yet another protester, Hamed Nour-Mohammadi, was killed on February 20 when "thousands took to the streets of Iran's largest cities", according to

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...

"to commemorate the deaths of Saneh Jaleh", and Mohammad Mokhtar. Nour-Mohammadi, was killed in Shiraz.Iran: End Violence Against Protesters
, hrw, 3 March 2011

References