2:46pm UK, Sunday June 21, 2009

Joe Braidwood,
Sky News Online

Footage of a teenage girl dying on the street in Tehran has helped to rally anti-government protesters inside Iran and around the world.

Shocking footage showing teenager’s death has caused outrage around the world

Foreign media are banned from reporting on non-official events in Iran, where the state censors and regulates the information seen by its citizens and those abroad.

But a video clip showing a girl known as Neda, who is thought to have been no older than 16, bleeding to death while frantic attempts are made to save her life has been broadcast across the globe via the internet.

Reports from the country say the teenager had been watching Saturday’s protests with her father when she was shot by Iran’s militia.

A message posted with the original footage on YouTube alleges she was intentionally shot in the chest.

“I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her,” the video’s poster said.

“But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet had blasted inside the victim’s chest, and she died in less than two minutes.

“The protests were going on about 1 kilometre away in the main street and some of the protesting crowd were running from tear gas used among them, towards Salehi St.

“The film is shot by my friend who was standing beside me. Please let the world know.”

Neda, whose name means “voice” in Farsi, has been hailed as a martyr by those outraged at the brutality of the Iranian government’s response to the election protests.

Clashes broke out soon after the presidential election on June 12, which many supporters of Iranian opposition parties claim was rigged to re-elect the hardline Islamist government.

The story of Neda’s death has resonated with protesters across the world.

In America, pictures of her face have appeared on posters at protests against the Iranian government, hailing her as a martyr, US media reports.

Anti-government bloggers using Twitter to thwart the authorities’ attempts to stop them communicating have started using her name as a call sign, making it one of the most mentioned words on the site.

“RIP NEDA, The World cries seeing your last breath, you didn’t die in vain. We remember you,” reads one Tweet.

Another reads: “Neda, you have become the VOICE of your peoples suffering and you will always live in our hearts as a hero.”

Sky News foreign affairs correspondent Lisa Holland said: “In movements for change there are usually defining momements, and in Iran this may well be one of them.

“There is a palpable sense that after this there is no going back – that the course to take on the theocracy of Iran has been set.”