Iran's Martyr Foundation said on Saturday it would declare Neda Agha-Soltan a martyr if it is proven that an enemy of the state caused the young woman's death during a protest rally after the June election.| What if the enemy of the state .. are the leaders of the state? |
"If this is confirmed by the Intelligence Ministry ... her family must be somehow covered by the foundation," Zaribafan said.
The Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans' Affairs provides facilities and financial help to families of those killed or wounded during the Iran-Iraq war of the 80s or who died for the cause of the Islamic republic. Neda emerged as an emblem of the political uprising in Iran after she was shot to death during a protest in Tehran against the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Amateur videos of her bleeding to death posted on the Internet and broadcast across the world triggered an outcry over Iranian authorities' clampdown on the anti-Ahmadinejad protests.
Iranian police have claimed her death was staged.
Ahmadinejad has called for a probe into her death, accusing opposition groups and "enemies of misusing the situation politically and tarnishing the clean image of the Islamic republic".