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Iranwire – The uncle of Pooya Bakhtiari, a victim of the bloody state crackdown on protests that rocked Iran in November 2019, says his sister’s house was auctioned off after being forfeited in return for his temporary release from prison.
The uncle, Mehrdad Bakhtiari, posted a video on social media on November 28 in which he expresses his outrage in front of the Revolution Court building in Karaj, near Tehran.
“For the past four years, the Bakhtiari family has endured nothing but oppression and torment,” he laments. “We have seen no justice, only suffering.”
Bakhtiari said the court had notified the family of the auction of the house, and that the money from the sale will be confiscated for the benefit of the state.
He said the real estate was put up on sale before the issuance of a verdict in his case.
“Congratulations” he says sarcastically. “Make my sister, her young child and her husband homeless at the start of winter and see if you get enough.”
Pooya Bakhtiari was killed by security forces in Karaj during nationwide protests sparked by an abrupt fuel price increase in November 2019.
Like many Iranian families seeking justice for those killed by Iranian security forces, the Bakhtiaris have faced persistent harassment from the authorities.
Pooya’s father, Manouchehr Bakhtiari, and his mother, Nahid Shirpisheh, are currently imprisoned.
Mehrdad Bakhtiari was himself arrested and transferred to Karaj’s Rajaee Shahr Prison in June 2022 following the release of a video about the arrest of Nahid Shirpisheh and the publication of images depicting the family home after a raid by security forces.
He was temporarily released on bail in September 2022 pending the end of the judicial proceedings.
