Iranian police break neck of Afghan teen amid deportation crackdown

15-year-old Afghan teenager, Seyed Mehdi, has sustained severe injuries, including a broken neck, after Iranian police knelt on his neck .
15-year-old Afghan teenager, Seyed Mehdi, has sustained severe injuries, including a broken neck, after Iranian police knelt on his neck .

A 15-year-old Afghan has sustained severe injuries including a broken neck after Iranian police knelt on his neck amid escalating efforts to expel a growing number of Afghan immigrants.

According to Afghanistan International, Seyed Mehdi, who suffers from partial hearing problems, was fleeing from the police as they launched a series of attacks on migrants in a village in Damavand country in Tehran.

In a video of the incident, verified by Afghanistan International, two plainclothes officers and one uniformed officer are seen pinning the teenage to the ground next to a police vehicle.

Initially, two officers are seen applying their total weight on the boy's body, with one subsequently placing his knee on his neck, in scenes echoing the death of George Floyd in the US in the hands of police. The teenager is seen crying out in pain with several nearby women screaming and attempting to intervene, but the security officers stop them.

The video depicts that after some time, Seyed Mehdi's cries fall silent, and the officers then drag him into the police vehicle.

According to Afghanistan International, the teenager is currently hospitalized, though his exact condition remains unknown.

Analysts have noted the irony that in 2020, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei condemned the murder of George Floyd as evidence of the "true nature" of American leadership, yet he is silent regarding similar actions perpetrated by Iranian police.

"The crime committed against this black man is the same thing the US government has been doing against all the world," Khamenei said in televised speech. "This is the US government's true nature and character that is being exposed today."

In recent weeks, the intensity of pressure exerted by Iranian security forces and certain segments of the Iranian populace on immigrants has markedly escalated, accompanied by a surge in reported incidents of aggression.

On Wednesday, Iran Police Chief Ahmadreza Radan said all illegal immigrants must leave the country and return home by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2025).

Meanwhile, the governor of Shahriar in Tehran Province announced a "rapid action plan for arresting illegal immigrants." Alireza Fatehi-Nejad said on Wednesday that undocumented Afghans will be returned to their country under the plan.

Also on Wednesday, Hamidullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesperson for the Taliban, announced the expatriation of 4,000 Afghan prisoners from Iranian prisons back to Afghanistan.

Furthermore, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported in March that a comprehensive police initiative had been launched to apprehend and repatriate unauthorized immigrants from Tehran Province.

Additionally, it was announced that a "special patrol" has been established in Shahr-e Rey, south of Tehran, specifically tasked with identifying and detaining illegal foreign nationals.

Afghans represent the predominant group among both legal and undocumented immigrants in Iran, often referred to as "foreign nationals" by government authorities and media outlets. Official estimates suggest that the Afghan immigrant population in Iran could be as substantial as eight million.

International human rights organizations have meticulously documented years of systemic mistreatment faced by Afghan refugees and migrants in Iran, highlighting their persistent deprivation of essential services such as healthcare, employment opportunities, and housing.

The substantial influx of Afghan refugees following the Taliban's takeover in 2021 has exacerbated these issues, provoking a backlash from some Iranians who argue that their country is already grappling with severe economic and social crises and is ill-equipped to accommodate additional refugees.

According to Afghan authorities, Iran deported over 20,000 Afghan children last year, many of whom were unaccompanied and without guardians.

Last week, Iranian authorities expelled Kobra Gholami, an outspoken Afghan social researcher, allegedly for failing to comply with the country's mandatory hijab regulations.