Sane Jaleh

Sane Jaleh (, Sāne jāle) also Sanea Jaleh, Saneh Jaleh, or Sani Zhaleh (May 22, 1985 – February 14, 2011) was an Iranian student at the University of Arts. He was one of two students shot dead during the February 14, 2011 demonstrations in support of Egyptians and Tunisians for ousting Presidents Hosni Mubarak and Ben Ali, in Tehran, Iran. According to news reports, "rival groups" of pro- and anti-Islamic government protesters "both claim" him and the other slain protester (Mohammad Mokhtari) "as one of their supporters."

Background Sane Jaleh was born in Paveh in Kermanshah Province in 1985 and was a Kurdish Hewrami Iranian and Sunni Muslim. At the time of his death he was in his third year of studies in the field of dramatic arts at the Department of Cinema and Theater

Killing and controversy

Official version On Tuesday February 15, the day after his killing, the Iranian "culture ministry's security chief" reported his death and stated that he was a "government supporter." Other pro-government news media sources reported he was a "Basij militia member" (a group of "plain clothes" Islamic militants noted for their attacks on opposition demonstrators with batons, metal chains and firearms) "shot by agents provocateurs controlled by various opposition groups". On Wednesday his funeral was held with a funeral process starting at Tehran University where the state-run IRIB reported clashes by marchers with "the sedition movement," i.e. opposition. a claim considered "bizarre" by some.

Disputes with official version

"Friends and classmates" of Jaleh, have responded with a "counteroffensive" denying he was either a member of the Basij or a supporter of the government. Kalameh website has stated that Jaleh was a member of Mir-Hossein Mousavi's election campaign team; Saham News Website has published a picture with Ayatollah Montazeri and claims that one of the men in the picture is Sane Jaleh. Jaleh's alleged pro-regime outlook also does not square with his publishing of "at least one short story" in a magazine (Azma) "accused in some quarters of being a part of the `soft war` against the Islamic Republic"; his appearance in a short film (A Brick in the Wall) currently banned by Iranian regime due to its dissident contents; and his Kurdish and Sunni background (neither group being known for its support of the Islamic Republic).

According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, a Wednesday 16 February funeral procession and memorial service planned for Sane Jaleh by his classmates at the Arts University campus was taken over by the Basij with "about 40 to 50" of Jaleh's classmates being "pushed ... into a corner", and held until they were told to "leave quietly and silently." A few were arrested. The BBC reported that "police forces had blocked all the roads leading to the university" the day of the funeral, "and were only allowing in pro-government supporters." ) killed on February 14. According to The New York Times, "shops in Mahabad and Sanandaj were closed" after Kurds called for a general strike in response to the death of Jaleh.