Iran’s police force has dismissed the commander of a city in the northern province of Gilan following the death of a detainee, according to state media reports on Saturday. The detainee, 36-year-old Mohammad Mir Mousavi, was arrested on July 22 after being involved in a fight in Lahijan, police stated through the official news agency IRNA.
The dismissal was attributed to “insufficient oversight of the conduct and behaviour of staff,” according to the police statement. The station commander and several officers involved in the incident have been suspended. The statement also noted that the conduct of some officers “was against the professional policy of the police” and that they have been referred to judicial authorities.
The cause of Mir Mousavi’s death remains under investigation, pending the final report from the medical examiner. However, the Norway-based Kurdish human rights organization, Hengaw, alleged that Mir Mousavi “was killed under torture in the detention centre.”
In response to the incident, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered an investigation. Such dismissals within the security forces are uncommon in Iran, where the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in 2022 ignited widespread protests across the country. Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, died after being detained in Tehran for allegedly violating the nation’s strict dress code for women.
