Rioters in an Iranian provincial capital are demanding answers in the mysterious death of a 25 year-old chambermaid, alleging the woman was trying to flee an attempted rape by a government official.
Farinaz Khosravani, 25, died Monday after falling from a fourth-floor window, reports The New York Times. She worked in a four-star hotel in Mahabad, where the majority of the 280,000 population is ethnically Kurdish.
Protesters purportedly set fire to the hotel where Khosravani worked, suspecting foul play on the part of the hotel manager, according to Arash Saleh, a representative of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) to the U.S., who spoke to The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Video emerged online of the five-story hotel aflame.
State of emergency in #Mahabad amidst reports of casualties / ANF http://t.co/TRf4ILIsxh #FerinazXosrewani pic.twitter.com/ZC36GEjbVp
— BerNa (@bzgncl) May 7, 2015
Some observers suspect the manager, also the hotel’s owner, locked the door from the outside to prevent the chambermaid’s escape, says Saleh. The Iranian intelligence official promised to give the hotel a fifth star in return for the proprietor arranging his stay, according to the NYT.
Two to four demonstrators have been killed and more than 50 injured, Saleh told TheDCNF. Tens of protesters have been arrested, he added. “The situation has been militarized, totally,” said Saleh.
Protesters set fire to a police car on the streets of Mahabad. (Courtesy/Arash Saleh)
Iranian Special Forces were sent to quell protests, using tear gas to disperse crowds. Later, President Hassan Rouhani ordered forces to avoid clashes and withdraw from the area, according to Rudaw, a Kurdish media outlet.
Khosravani’s family has been silenced, according to Saleh. “They are not allowed to talk to anybody.”
Iran’s intelligence services in the Kurdish-majority regions of the country are “granted a lot of power and a lot of privilege,” says Saleh. “They have a free hand… they consider themselves above the law.”
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