Alireza Fazeli-Monfared, 20, was reportedly murdered by his brother and cousins on Tuesday (4 May) after they discovered the Iranian military exempted him from service because of “sexual depravities”. At around 7pm on Tuesday evening, Alireza spoke to his mother on the phone for the last time, his best friend Aghil Abyat told Iran Wire. Shortly afterwards, his half-brother arrived at Alireza’s residence and said their father needed to see him. Alireza was taken by car to the village of Borumi, near the capital of Ahvaz, where his brother and cousins murdered and beheaded him, before dumping his body by a tree. Alireza had been planning to flee Iran and join his boyfriend as a refugee in Turkey before his death. His partner, activist Aghil Bayat, told Iranian LGBT+ network 6rang that the killers called Alireza’s mother directly after the murder and told her where to find his body. Alireza’s mother was “hospitalised with shock” following the murder, Bayat said. He later told Radio Zamaneh that Alireza’s killers have been arrested.