BONN, Germany -- A former leading Iranian entertainer who had links to Iranian dissidents was found dead in his home in Bonn, and police said Sunday they believed he had been murdered.
Fereydoon Mehrdad Farokhzad-Araghi had apparently been stabbed to death, a crime squad spokesman said.
He said it was not clear whether the apparent stabbing may have beenpolitically motivated.
Farokhzad-Araghi, 48, was one of the best known entertainers in Iran during the rule of the Shah Mohammed Rez Pahlavi, who was swept from power in January 1979.
The police spokesman said the former singer and actor was known to have contacts to groups that oppose the current Iranian government.
He said the body was discovered Friday after police were alerted by the loud and continous barking of Farokhzad-Araghi's two dogs, who were in the appartment.
The spokesman said that cries for help had been heard last Monday night, but that police could not establish which appartment they came from.