The Iranian pro-regime and opposition forces have each been battling to claim Saleh Jaleh as their martyr. He was killed by gunfire on February 14 when the opposition demonstrated in Tehran and several other cities.
Sane Jaleh, 26, was a student of dramatic literature at Tehran Arts University. A Sunni Muslim, Sane was from Paveh in the Kurdistan Province.
While Iranian pro-government websites claim he was a Basij militia member, killed by the opposition, opposition sites say he was a protester. Both sides accuse each other of trying to steal Saleh’s identity.
Pro-regime sites published his photo and his Basij membershipcard, while opposition sites published a photo of him with the late high ranking cleric, Ayathollah Montazeri, a leading anti-government figure.
Reza Sajadi, the secretary of Tehran Arts University’s Islamic Association, and a close friend of Sane Jaleh, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that despite threats made against him, he strongly denies his friend’s membership in the Basij organization.