MESOP REPORT : Details about Farinaz Khosrawani death will be revealed ‘soon’, Mahabad mayor says

12 May 2015 – RUDAW – MAHABAD, Iranian Kurdistan,—The mayor of the Kurdish city in Iran’s Kurdistan region that last week was plunged into unrest over the unexplained death of a young hotel maid has said the facts of the case will be revealed “soon,” without giving a timetable.“The case is in the courts, everything will be known to the public soon,”Jaffar Katani, mayor of Mahabad, told Rudaw on Monday.Katani declined to comment further on the issue, explaining “The situation in Mahabad is now calm and I don’t want to make it unstable again by publishing a report.”

On Thursday, the unexplained death of Kurdish hotel maid Farinaz Khosrawani led to mob violence in the 280,000-populated city in Iran’s West Azerbaijian province in west Kurdistan (Rojhelat) in which the hotel where she worked was torched and at least 25 protesters and police were injured.

Anti-government media and Kurdish protesters claim Khosrawani jumped to her death to avoid the sexual advances of an Iranian army officer who was allegedly working in cooperation with the hotel’s owner — accusations unconfirmed by Rudaw. Allegations of foul play in Mahbad set off a wave of demonstrations in other part of Kurdistan, Iraqi Kurdistan, Syrian Kurdistan and Turkish Kurdistan. Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted Saeed Montazer Almahdi, Iran’s deputy police chief, as saying a suspect arrested in the incident had confessed to being with Khosrawani when she fell to her death from the fourth floor of the Tara Hotel.

“He has been arrested, handed over to judicial authorities and he has confessed,” Almahdi said, without giving the suspect’s name or specifying what he had confessed to.

Residents in Mahabad and other Iranian Kurdish cities have question the fairness of trial related to this issue because the man is believed to be a government’s agent. His identity is as yet unconfirmed.

The family of victim has also claimed they are waiting the court’s result.

“We don’t really know much about the case,” Farinaz’s older brother, Suliman Khosrawani told local media earlier. Meanwhile, the owner of the hotel torched by protesters aid he will take legal action against the angry mob and let the courts settle the issue.

Earlier this week, hotel owner Nadr Mawloudi told Rudaw the protesters’ claims of misconducted would soon be discredited. “We have images and videos showing Farinaz’s activities inside the hotel that prove people are wrong in their judgments. I am ready to share the evidences with public,” he said.Mawloudi has also accused protesters of looting his hotel prior to setting it on fire.

“I am going to fill lawsuit against all those who burned down my hotel. They even stole TVs and air conditioners,” he said.