News

One of Iran’s most respected television presenters is resisting official pressure to deny claims her son was deliberately run over by security forces during an opposition protest.

Shahin Mahinfar, 61, who has been introducing programmes since the days of the Shah, was banned from state television premises after her 25-year-old son Amir Tajmir, a TV technician, was killed on December 27.

Witnesses said he was run over twice by a police armoured personnel carrier in Tehran’s Vali Asr square during anti-government demonstrations marking the Ashura holy festival. Mobile phone footage appeared to support the allegations.

According to opposition websites, Mahinfar has refused to return to the screen to issue a denial. News of her son’s death sent a wave of rage through Tehran. The footage of the alleged killing was downloaded by tens of thousands of Iranians.

On Friday Iranian secret police arrested two of the main witnesses.

One, a young woman calling herself “Sadaf” was interviewed by the Voice of America Farsi service and described what happened in front of her.