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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Deepa Parent

Death of Iranian activist who burned picture of supreme leader causes outcry

Photo of a young man from his Instagram account.
Omid Sarlak posted a video of himself burning a photo of the Islamic Republic’s leader, Ali Khamenei. Photograph: Instagram

The death of a young Iranian man who had filmed himself burning a photograph of the country’s supreme leader has sparked a war of words between state media and activists over how he died.

Government-sanctioned news websites reported that Omid Sarlak, who was in his 20s, had been found in his car on Saturday in western Iran with a gunshot wound to his head and traces of gunpowder on his hands. Iranian police said Sarlak had “died by suicide”.

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