Sarina Esmailzadeh was 16. A Karaj high-schooler who ran a YouTube channel about teen life. She died on 23 September 2022 during the early days of the Woman-Life-Freedom protests. State claimed suicide-by-jumping. Amnesty International’s investigation found severe head trauma consistent with baton blows. The UN Fact-Finding Mission identified the killing of children at protests as systematic.
Nika Shakarami was 16. Last seen at a Tehran protest on 20 September 2022. Body returned to her family 9 days later with a fractured skull. State claimed suicide-by-jumping. A leaked IRGC document obtained by BBC Persian in April 2024 and the UN Fact-Finding Mission report concluded she was sexually assaulted and beaten to death by security forces. Her family was forced to bury her in secret in Khorramabad.
Aida Rostami was a young Tehran physician who treated injured protesters in safe houses during the 2022 Woman-Life-Freedom uprising, after hospitals were ordered to report gunshot wounds to police. Found dead 12 December 2022 with a battered face, missing eye, and broken bones. State claimed traffic accident. Colleagues, HRW, and Amnesty say killed.
Koshtar-67 (1988 prison massacre) names the secret mass execution of imprisoned MEK members and leftists ordered by Khomeini in late July 1988. Three-person Death Commissions across 32 cities ran 30-second hearings. HRW estimates 2,800-5,000 killed; Atlantic Council 4,500-5,000 in three months; opposition sources up to 30,000. Bodies dumped in mass graves including Khavaran. Tehran’s commission included Ebrahim Raisi, who became president in 2021.
Khavaran is a mass-grave site in southeastern Tehran where the Islamic Republic buried thousands of executed prisoners, including most victims of the 1988 prison massacre, in unmarked pits. Families have been forbidden to mark graves. The state bulldozed the site in 2008 and again in 2017. Documented by Amnesty, Iran Tribunal, and the UN Special Rapporteur.
Dey-96 (Persian calendar month corresponding to December 2017-January 2018) names Iran’s first nationwide post-Green-Movement uprising, sparked by economic grievances in Mashhad and spreading to 80+ cities. Amnesty: at least 25 killed, 4,900 arrested. The first protests to chant against the Islamic Republic itself, foreshadowing 2019 and 2022.
Aban-98 (Persian calendar month corresponding to October-November 2019) names the November 2019 fuel-price uprising, also called Bloody November. Triggered by a 200% gasoline price hike on 15 Nov 2019, suppressed under a six-day total internet blackout. Reuters confirmed 1,500+ killed. Worst single suppression between 1979 and 2022.
Toomaj Salehi (b. 1990, Isfahan) is an Iranian rapper whose anti-regime tracks made him a symbol of the 2022 uprising. Arrested 30 Oct 2022, tortured per his own video testimony and Amnesty. Sentenced to death April 2024, sentence overturned June 2024, released 1 December 2024 after 753 days in custody. Continuing to record.
Elaheh Mohammadi (b. 1987) is a Ham-Mihan reporter who covered Mahsa Amini’s funeral in Saqqez on 17 Sep 2022, where mourners removed headscarves and ignited the uprising. Arrested 29 Sep 2022, held 17 months, sentenced to 12 years. Released on bail Jan 2024, pardoned 11 Feb 2025. UNESCO World Press Freedom laureate.
Niloofar Hamedi (b. 1992) is a Sharq photojournalist who broke the Mahsa Amini story on 16 Sep 2022 with a hospital photo of Mahsa’s grieving family. Arrested 22 Sep 2022, held 17 months in Evin, originally sentenced to 13 years, released on bail Jan 2024, pardoned 11 Feb 2025. UNESCO World Press Freedom laureate.
