Suspect in Mahabad Incident Not a Security Officer: Iran's Police
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A deputy commander of Iran's Police Force said a suspect arrested over the death of a young girl who fell off a hotel balcony in the country's predominantly Kurdish city of Mahabad a few days ago is an ordinary local man with no connection with the security forces.
Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency on Saturday, General Montazer-al-Mahdi said the suspect, who has been arrested and handed to the judiciary officials, has confessed to his involvement in the death of the young girl.
He said hostile media outlets began to exaggerate the incident with the aim of provoking the residents, but the timely presence of the police forces, who acted with restraint, calmed down the situation.
Asked about the protesters who on Thursday set fire to the city's Tara Hotel, where the incident occured, the commander said a number of suspects have been arrested after a group of local residents gathered in front of the hotel to protest against the hotel manager.
Nobody has been killed in the unrest and rumors about deaths in the protests are all untrue, Montazer-al-Mahdi added.
He went on to say that the young victim was escaping confrontation with her family members and the hotel manager when she tried to jump from a room's balcony to another one, but fell down and lost her life.
