Iran's ‘Jamie Oliver’ beaten to death: Who was 19-yr-old Mehrshad Shahidi?

Celebrity chef Mehrshad Shahidi, also known as Iran’s ‘Jamie Oliver’, was beaten to death in police custody. Shahidi, who was arrested by security forces during an anti-hijab protest, was beaten to death with batons at the IRGC Intelligence’s detention centre.

This is 19-year-old Mehrshad Shahidi, a chef that had so much talent and potential. He was killed in Arak city on 10/26 by security forces who beat his head with batons.

These are the brilliant Gen Zers the IRI is killing. See their faces, remember their names. #MahsaAmini pic.twitter.com/xq8f2FgGMQ

— Holly Dagres (@hdagres) October 28, 2022

Thousands turned up to Shahidi’s funeral on Saturday, incidentally the day before his 20th birthday. Iran has been rocked by protests since the death of Mahsa Amini on 16 September. Let’s take a closer look at Shahidi: The 19-year-old Shahidi had 25,000 followers on Instagram and often posted clips of himself cooking. As per Telegraph, students at the University of Arak, where he worked as head chef, described him as a “popular man” who was “energetic and handsome”. As per MSN, Shahidi was left with multiple skull injuries after being beaten on the head with batons when he was arrested for protesting in Arak. Mirror quoted Shahidi’s family as telling Iran International TV, “Our son lost his life as a result of receiving baton blows to his head after his arrest, but we have been under pressure by the regime to say that he died of a heart attack.” Iran authorities have denied such claims. MSN quoted Chief Justice of the province, Abdolmehdi Mousavi, as saying “there are no signs of fractures in the arms, legs, skull, or any brain injury.” Zee News quoted Deputy Governor Behnam Nazari as saying, “The rumours are being spread by anti-Iran media, but no bullets have been shot at Mehrshad Shahidi.” According to the report, demonstrators at Shahidi’s funeral were chanting, “Everyone who is killed will be supported by thousands more."

Security forces used tear gas to force the crowd to disperse.

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The funeral took place on the same day that Iranian Revolutionary Guards Commander Hossein Salami warned to stay home. “Do not come to the streets! Today is the last day of the riots," Salami said, as per WION. “This sinister plan, is a plan hatched … in the White House and the Zionist regime,” Salami claimed. Telegraph UK quoted Iranian affairs commentator Dr Reza Taghizadeh as saying that Shahidi’s death was causing a “second and even greater wave of national protests against the regime in the same way Mahsa Amini’s death did a month ago”. [caption id=“attachment_11370431” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Protestors with placards showing Mahsa Amini’s picture. ANI[/caption] Iran protesters rally again despite Guards order to stand down Iranian protesters rallied again Sunday, defying an order by the powerful Revolutionary Guards to stop the demonstrations – now in their seventh week. Students gathered overnight and Sunday across Iran, even after Major General Hossein Salami, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, had warned demonstrators: “Do not come to the streets!” Amini, 22, died in custody on September 16 after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of Iran’s strict dress rules for women, triggering a wave of unrest and a state response on the “riots” that Amnesty International calls a “brutal crackdown”. Security forces on Sunday fired gunshots and tear gas at a gathering of students in the flashpoint western city of Sanandaj, where videos showed billowing clouds of smoke amid chants of “freedom”, the Norway-based Hengaw organisation reported. It also posted a video with the sound of echoing gunfire, and of a 12-year-old girl wailing with her bloody arm peppered with metal pellets, in reports AFP could not independently verify. Security forces have struggled to contain the protests, which started with women taking to the streets and burning their hijab headscarves and which have evolved into a broader campaign to end the Islamic republic founded in 1979. Over 160 killed Students had protested on Saturday at campuses in Tehran, Kerman in the country’s south, and the western city of Kermanshah, among others, online videos showed. Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said demonstrations were held in more than 50 universities and institutes of higher learning. Protests on Sunday were reported in multiple universities including the capital as well as in Mazandaran and Mashhad, where IHR said crowds chanted “Death to the dictator”. The rights group said Friday that at least 160 protesters, including more than two dozen children, had been killed since protests began. [caption id=“attachment_11545031” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Iran is facing vast protests across the country. AP[/caption] At least another 93 people were killed during separate demonstrations that erupted on 30 September in the southeastern city of Zahedan over the reported rape of a teenage girl by a police commander, according to IHR. In Amini’s hometown of Saqez, security forces in plain clothes broke up a protest at a vocational college, where officers “attacked the students and abducted a number of them”, Hengaw said. Journalist protest Hundreds have been detained, and on Sunday more than 300 Iranian journalists and photojournalists signed a statement condemning authorities for “arresting colleagues and stripping them of their civil rights after their detentions”. Reformist daily Sazandegi said Sunday that “more than 20 journalists are still in detention”, while the Tehran journalists’ association dismissed the “security approach” as “illegal” and “in conflict with press freedom”. Tehran has sought to portray the protest movement as a plot hatched by its arch-enemy the United States, charging that some journalists had received “training courses” with the aim of changing power in Tehran. According to local media, a report by the security services referred to journalist Elaheh Mohammadi from the Sazandegi paper and photographer Niloufar Hamedi of the daily Shargh, who helped publicise Amini’s case and who have been detained for weeks. Both their outlets challenged the report, with Shargh editor Mehdi Rahmanian insisting that “our journalist and our newspaper… acted within the framework of the journalistic mission”. The protests have attracted global attention, and solidarity demonstrations have been held in cities all over the world. In Berlin, three men were hurt early on Sunday when a pro-democracy vigil outside the Iranian embassy was attacked, German police said. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.