Sohrab Arabi was a Tehrani student killed during the Green Movement protests over the disputed 2009 presidential election. He became an early icon of the post-2009 mothers-of-the-dead activism.
He was arrested at a 15 June 2009 demonstration in Tehran. The family was given no information for 26 days. On 11 July 2009 they were told to come identify a body that had been at the coroner's since shortly after his arrest. The cause was a single gunshot wound to the chest.
His mother Parvin Fahimi did not retreat after her son was killed. She became a founding figure of Mothers of Mourning (Madaran-e Azadar), a network of bereaved mothers from the Green Movement who refused to stop publicly naming their dead. Fifteen years later that network is still active.
Sohrab Arabi is the entry point for understanding the line that runs from 2009 to 2022. The same state apparatus, the same playbook of delayed bodies and intimidated families, the same maternal resistance.
What it is
Sohrab Arabi (سهراب اعرابی) was a 19-year-old Tehrani killed during the 2009 Green Movement protests against the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He was arrested on 15 June 2009 during a mass demonstration. For 26 days his mother, Parvin Fahimi, searched prisons, courts, and morgues. On 11 July 2009, the family was informed his body had been at the coroner’s office for weeks with a gunshot wound to the chest. His mother became one of the most visible voices of the Mothers of Mourning network, organizing families of the Green Movement dead.
Sources
- Amnesty International, Iran post-election crackdown (2009)
- Center for Human Rights in Iran (July 2009)
- Human Rights Watch, Iran 2009 repression report
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