Iran security forces and state media cover up protester's death - source

Iranian security forces are working with state media to claim falsely that a killed protester was a loyalist Basij militiaman, BBC Persian has found.

Milad Ostad-Hashem, 37, was shot in the back with a live round in Tehran on 25 September, his death certificate says.

His family alleged that security forces fired it, a close source told the BBC.

However, security officials pressured them to go along with state media reports that he was a Basij member killed by "rioters", the source added.

"Security forces threatened to kill their [Milad's parents] two other sons and bury Milad's body secretly in a remote place if they did not co-operate," the source said.

The family finally agreed to the officials' demands because of Milad's eight-year-old daughter.

"They wanted her to know where her father's grave is," the source said, adding that she still thought Milad would come back.

The family were also forced to pay almost $700 (£630) for the cost of the bullet that was used to kill their son, according to the source.

Milad was shot as he rode a motorbike after taking part in protests in the capital.

CCTV footage obtained by BBC Persian shows the immediate moments after he was hit. He is seen pulling over and vomiting blood before falling down.

Another video recorded by eyewitnesses shows passers-by checking Milad for signs of life but then saying that he has already passed away. His body is seen covered in blood.

"The bullet entered his lungs," the source said.

However, state TV offered a very different narrative.

It described Milad as a member of the Basij, a notorious militia that has been involved in the deadly crackdown by authorities aimed at suppressing the anti-government protests that have swept the country.

The government's official newspaper and news agencies linked to Revolutionary Guards, which controls the Basij, published a picture of Milad performing religious rituals and described him as a "martyr".

The source said: "He took part in religious rituals, but he also loved hip-hop music and hated this regime."

On the day of Milad's funeral, the source added, the cemetery was packed with members of the Basij in order to help state TV keep up the pretence that he had been one of them.

BBC Persian has found authorities put similar pressure on the families of other slain protesters.

Security forces killed Abolfazl Adinezadeh, 17, by firing a shotgun at him at point-blank range in the city of Mashhad on 8 October, a source close to his family said.

The source said the family was pressured to say he was a Basij member, but that they refused to do so.

The family of Erfan Rezai, 21, who security forces allegedly shot with a pistol at close range in Amol on 21 September, was meanwhile pressured to say he was a bystander killed by "rioters", sources close to them told BBC Persian.

Shortly before his death, he had been filmed tearing down a government poster showing the supreme leader, a source said.