Say Their Names is an art collective project to remember the Iranian people killed by the regime.
At least 678 protesters have been killed since demonstrations swept Iran in September 2022. 93 among the dead were below the age of 18.
Most of these fallen heroes, have their bodies buried late at night by the regime so their memorial does not turn into yet another protest. Their families have been under pressure to say they have died due to ‘natural causes’ or have killed themselves. Even in their death they cannot be honoured by their families.
These memorial portraits are made by artists, in the medium of their choice to ‘say their names’ and remember them.
On 13 September 2022, Mahsa Amini was arrested in Tehran for “improperly” wearing her hijab. She was placed in detention where she was beaten into a coma and died three days later.Jina was a kind, sweet young woman from Saghez, the Kurdistan province in Iran. The Kurdish minority suffer from huge discrimination by the regime. Mahsa’s Kurdish name is Jina; the name her family and friends knew her by. Her parents could not register this Kurdish name and in her official documents she is called Mahsa. Her death, became a symbol of Iranian oppression. Her face, and her story, are now known around the world.
On 23 September 2022, Sarina Esmailzadeh died of a severe beating by security forces during the protests in Karaj, Iran. The Justice Department denied any responsibility for her death, claiming that she committed suicide.Sarina was an accomplished student who spoke English and French aside from her native Persian, and was also a YouTuber who shared videos about topics such as women’s rights, freedom, food, music and dancing. She also had multiple Telegram channels and was very vocal about what and how she thought. 50 security agents were present at her funeral, to prevent the outbreak of a protest.
On 20 September 2022, Nika disappeared in Tehran during protests. Her family was informed of her death ten days later. She had died under suspicious circumstances suspected that involved violence by security forces. After her body was identified by her family, her body was stolen by Authorities and buried in a small far away village to exercise leverage over her family and avoid a funeral procession which could cause further protests.
Nika is one of the faces of the ongoing protests in Iran, and her picture appears on posters and on the walls in Iranian cities.
A tattoo artist from city of Rasht, went on strike from his work in solidarity with the nationwide Mahsa Amini protests. He was shot dead by security forces a few days later. On September 21, security forces riding motorcycles, started shooting at crowds.He told his girlfriend to run. The security forces followed him, caught him in a dead-end street and fired three bullets at close range before waiting at the scene until he died. Behnam’s family was later warned they would not receive the remains until they signed a death certificate stating he died of a heart attack or car accident. Since his death, his headstone has been vandalised and his girlfriend arrested.
A Baluch man full of life and joy, and his mother’s whole world. Killed on 30th of September 2022 in Zahedan also known as bloody Friday. He was rushed to the hospital with internal bleeding. Prevented from receiving medical care by the security forces, he was left unattended and died on October the 4th. His sister has since died from a broken heart. A few months before his tragic death, Khodanour was arrested by the regime. He was tortured and was tied to a flag pole wounded and bleeding. They released his photo on the internet to humiliate him and to intimidate the society. His image with the glass of water just out of his reach, has become the symbol of resistance of a captive and deprived people.
Hadis Najafi was 22 years old when she was shot dead on 21st of September 2022. Hadis had a diploma in fashion desighn and was a prolific tiktoker. The goverment tried to blame the protesters for her death.
Celebrity chef Mehrshad Shahidi, was killed by security forces amid the anti-government protests in Iran. The 19-year-old was beaten to death by the security forces on October 26, a day before his 20th birthday. Shahidi received blows to his head while in the custody of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in Arak city.A relative of Shahidi’s told Iran International TV that Shahidi lost his life as a result of receiving blows to his skull. The relative said, “we have been under pressure by the regime to say that he died of a heart attack”.
A 10-year-old boy was killed on Wednesday 16th Nov by assailants on motorbikes in the western city of Izeh. Authorities blamed the deaths on “terrorists”.The boy’s body was reportedly taken to the family home covered in ice because family members feared if he was sent to the morgue it would be taken by the security forces, as has happened in numerous other cases. His mother has since been fired from her teaching job for speaking up. his father is bed bound and half paralysed.
Killed in the protests on Wednesday, September 21, in Amol. Ghazaleh was an athlete and a mountaineer. She was fatally shot whilst filming the protests on her mobile phone and chanting: (Don’t be afraid, we are all together) her voice gets cut off as she gets shot. We still hear the screams through her phone after she falls. She always wished that her body parts would give life after her death. A girl who was brain dead by a bullet from the agents of the Iranian regime, was not allowed to give her organs as donation as “they” didn’t want to make a hero of her. She is our hero.
Mehdi was killed with shots fired by security forces from pellet guns on Wednesday, September 21. Security agents then approached and hit him several times with their batons. He was taken to hospital, but did not survive.His family was told his body could not be returned to them. Officers only permitted close relatives to attend his burial, which was held under their surveillance. The family were then warned that if they publicly stated that Mehdi had been killed by police, other relatives would be “made to disappear”. They were told to say he had been killed by “the monafeqin” (hypocrites).
Minoo Majidi was a Kurdish woman born in Qhasre- Shirin. She lived in the city of Kermanshah with her husband and three children.Following the death of Mahsa Amini, Minoo Majidi was one of the protesters on the streets of Kermanshah who was shot and killed by the forces of the Islamic Republic on 20 September 2022.On the day of her burial of, women unveiled and the attendees chanted in protest. A picture of her daughter went viral. In the photo, she stands beside her mother’s grave with her bare shaved head, holding her own hair, and staring into the camera in unbending defiance.
Yalda, only 19, took her own life a few days after her release from prison. Yalda was arrested on October 26 in Tehran for writing anti-regime slogans on walls. She was released 10 days later, without being informed of the charges. She had been on a hunger strike prior to her release. She allegedly took her own life, with police reporting the cause of her death as an “overdose”. Yalda’s friend releases the voicemail she left her after getting out of prison. Her voice is hoarse and is saying she was beaten up in jail for 12 days but she didn’t cry, she only screamed. She says she didn’t regret being in protests and that she told the officers as well. She says defiantly, I never repented. They even wrote in my file that I was not repenting.
Negin, a biochemical engineering student at Hamadan University of Technology was brutally beaten during protests by security forces in Iran on 12th of September. She died later that night as the result of internal bleeding. Authorities are reportedly covering up her death by saying she ate a can of expired tuna. He family were under immense pressure to repeat this scenario or lose the chance to bury her themselves.
23 year old Hananeh Kia Kajoori from Nowshahr, a small city of Mazanadaran province in northern Iran, was on her way home from a dentist appointment when, as sources in her close network tells Zamaneh, she was shot in the side by security forces. The bullet shot by the government’s forces killed Hananeh on the spot.
Hananeh had been recently engaged and earned an independentincome working as a hairdresser at home. She was described as a calm, quiet and modest girl.
Security forces in Iran fatally shot Dariush for honking in his car horn in support of protestors in Sanandaj (Kurdistan province). His mother’s message “Don’t offer condolences. Continue the uprising.”
Ali was beaten by the brutes of the Islamic Republic during protests in Parand, Tehran and was shot at from close range with pallet guns. I.R forces said then dragged his body to a car but latter on dropped his injured body in a road. He was taken to a health centre by passer byes but died from internal bleeding and never reached the hospital.
The family was not allowed to access his body for 3 days. They then were told to sign a declaration saying their son ‘was a basiji and that he was killed by the protesters’ tin other to get his body back and be able to bury him.
Mohsen who was executed by the state of Iran after being convicted of injuring a member of Iran’s basiji militia and being accused of “waging war against God.” Shekari’s death is noteworthy for being the first known state-sanctioned execution to have taken place as a direct result of the 2022 Iranian revolution.
Abolfazl, a teenager from Najafabad village, was killed in Mashhad by state security forces on October 8. He was shot 24 times. His dad on his grave was asking: what did my 16 years old do for you to shoot him 24 times…He was a kind, funny and gentle soul.
The 23 years old medical student was killed in the city of Tabriz on 16th of November 2022. Haghi as a fourth-year student at the University of Medical Sciences. She was shot from close range from behind. The Islamic regime officials were refusing to give her body to her family unless they say that she died as a result of an accident. That she fell off a building when taking refuge during demonstrations. Her father got arrested for refusing to lie about his daughter’s death. Aylar’s funeral was raided by security forces who attacked the mourners violently with batons.
She was shot dead from behind by Islamic Republic guards in the recent Iranian uprising. Her parents were never allowed to talk about her death or the way she was killed.
Kian Hosseini was 39 when he was murdered by hanging by the regime. He was found guilty of corruption on earth for his alleged involvement in the killing of a militiaman. He maintained his innocent throughout his arrest and trial. He was made to sign false confession under torture. Mohammad Hosseini was a martial artist and a kickboxing champion in 2003. His martial arts sword and knives were used as evidence against him in the trial. After his execution, he had no immediate family to collect his body as both his parents have passed away. Iranians have all adopted him as their brother since.
Mohammad was shot by the security forces of the regime
in the Zahedan massacre of 30th September 2022, known
as ‘Bloody Friday’.
This beautiful 9 years old girl is Diana Mahmoudi! She was killed by Iranian regime forces in Piranshahr in October 2022.
While the world was busy with world cup.
Javad was from Lahijan and lost his life whilst trying to save a young woman being beaten up by the security forces. He was a kind and loving father of two. He was mourning the recent passing of his father but was still attending the demonstrations.
Mohammad and his friend traveled from their small city to Mashhad to participate in protests. On their way home, regime security forces chased their motorcycle and struck their heads with a baton, causing them to lose balance and crash with a car. Mohammad lost his life on November 24th.
Hasti Naroui was a week short of he 7th Birthday when she was killed in Zahedan on 30th of September ( also Known as Zahedan Bloody Friday). Hasti was at Friday Prayers with her grandmother. Security forces opened fire into the crowd. Hasti was hit on the head by teargas canister. She suffocated. Hasti was her parents only daughter.
Sasan was killed by a shot to his heart when going home from school passing demonstrations. His family had to pay to get his body released and had to bury him late at night.
Mahak was beaten to death by the Iranian regime’s forces
on Nov 26, in Shiraz amid nationwide protests.
Mohsen went into coma after he was tasered and was hit severely with buttons when attending the protests in Khorramshahr. There are images of him showing his bloody body on the ground on social media. He loved football and worked on building sites to help his family. Some of his organs were missing when they received his body.
The regime tried to claim him as their martyr saying he was killed by the protesters…. They even changed his grave stone and added the word martyr to his headstone.
Majid Reza Rahnavard was executed by the regime at the age of 23 for protesting. He was charged with and sentenced to death for Moharebeh (Waging war against God). He did not have a fair trial and couldn’t choose his attorney. He was reportedly tortured and had a broken arm in his last footage before hanging. He asked people not to cry for him and play happy music in his wake.
Rahim was shot by the regime on 25th of September in the small town of Ghayemshahr.
Amin was a wrestler from Shiraz was arrested over a year ago with no word from him since. Bones were found in mountains of Shiraz, this summer and identified as min’s remain on October 14 2022. A “BAG OF HIS BONES” was delivered to his family.
Not even a body to bury... Just a few of his bones!
He went missing on 26th of October in when he was in the protests in Tehran. His family received his dead body 5 days later in the graveyard. Mohammad Hossein’s parents were only shown his face and not his body when he was being buried by the security forces. The family was under pressure to say he died from a hart failure or in an accident and were not allowed to have a memorial service.
Zakaria was shot in the head by the security forces of the regime in Piranshahr on September 20th.
Sadis Kashani was 14 years old when he was killed by the regime on the 30th of September. Sadis was on of almost 100 people killed in Zahedan on what is known as Bloody Friday. At least 13 children were killed as the result of the regime opening fire on demonstrators marching after the Friday prayers.
Reza Shahparnia was shot dead by riot police whilst protesting in Kermanshah on September 20th. His twin sister has been taken to hospital several times since. He was only 23 years old. In answer to his father asking him not to join the protests, he has said he was not afraid to die for the revolution.
Shirin was on holiday in the North of Iran with her family when they came across a demonstration in their car. Shirin was filming the chants from the car when she got shot in the head. For days the family kept the accident quiet in order to be able to bury the body. The regime had promised that if the family did not talk to the media on the way she was killed, they would arrest and question the killer. No such thing has been done.
Shirin was a mother of 7 years old son who witnessed his mum’s sudden death in the car.
Siavash was a 17 years old teenager, brought up solely by his mother Leila. He was shot and killed during the protests. His mother was threatened to keep quiet and not have a memorial service for him. Leila instead walked the streets of Tehran holding up Siavash’s picture and telling everyone where and when his memorial service was. She was shouting that she was proud of the hero that her son was. She put her own name as the parent on Siavash’s grave not the customary father’s name.
Hamid Reza Sayadi was 39 years old and a father of a young child. He was injured during the protests on the 27th of November. After his death due to internal bleeding, his family donated his eyes so he could see the day of freedom.
Navid, a medical student from Gonbade Kavous was arrested during the protests in Tehran and was killed under torture on October 24th. His family was threatened by the security guards to say that he was killed in a car accident. Navid was only 23.
Abbas was arrested when handing out chocolate wrapped in a note saying Woman Life Freedom. He killed himself after being released on bail from Prison. He is amongst many who have done so after release. It is not known if this is due to torture or being drugged.
Mohammad Mehdi was the 21 years old Kurdish man who was executed by the regime on the 7th of Jan 23. his trial took less than one week and he was not permitted his own lawyer. Although there was no evidence to support the allegation that he was involved in the killing of a militia member, he was charged. He was subjected to such extreme torture that he was assumed dead at one point. He was a karate champion and his father brought him up by street wending.
Aida was a 36 years old Physician who was treating injured protestors in their homes. She was kidnapped, beaten and killed by the security forces. both her hands were broken and one of her eyes was removed. Her mother was told she was killed in a car accident. Aida lost her father ( A GP as well ) to cancer when she was young and had promised herself to save lives when she grew up.
Mehran was shot in the head in his car whilst celebrating the World Cup. Iranians celebrated Iran’s defeat against the American team as they wanted the team to stand by the protesters rather than compete. his brother drove all night with Mehra’s body in his car to prevent the regime from kidnapping his body in order to deny the cause of death.
Alireza, 17 was tortured and murdered by the security forces for tearing up the image of the “supreme leader” at school. Alireza’s father found his body hanging in his store, with his body beaten and his clothes torn apart.
Nima died under unknown suspicious circumstances during the uprising in Iran. . the regime has announced that he died due to natural causes.; he was 18. His sister was arrested and detained for a week before his death. He was from Yasooj.
Mehdi was shot on 22 September 2022; he was 15. He was shot with a rifle bullet and then was attacked by the regime thugs with batons in Zanjan.
Saha was riding in a car with her parents on Christmas Day 2022 when the security forces opened fire on them. the 12 years old was killed in her father’s arms in Zanjan. Later on, he was forced to say on TV that his child’s murder had nothing to do with the protests.
16 year old Kurdish child, was killed in Piranshahr city. Iranian security forces killed him on 30th of October after they opened fire on protesters with live ammunition in the country’s western Kurdish areas.
“We are the people of the Middle East, some of us will die in war, some in prison, some in the street, others drown in the sea,” Komar posted on his Instagram before meeting his heartbreaking end. “Even the rising mountains avenge their loneliness on us, because we are here to die.”
His father, Hassan Draoftadeh, said that security agents had summoned him to pressured him to say his son was killed by Kurdish groups and not by the Iranian government.
He refused. Hassan was kidnapped by the regime forces on November 3 after his heartfelt and harrowing speech on Komar’s grave.
Mohammad was killed at his home during a police raid operation. Basiji agents raided his home in Karaj around 3am on 24 September to arrest his son, Meysam Jameh-Bozorg, for his participation in the protests. Mohammad attempted to stop the arrest of his son. In response, the agents fatally shot him in the face in front of his wife and his two sons. Meysam (the son) fell from the roof of the house while attempting to escape and broke both his legs. Mohammad’s wife and their other son were arbitrarily arrested by the security forces and detained for about 24 to 48 hours.
Iranian security forces shot Sepehr, in the head with live round in Izeh on November 13th 2022.
Security forces stole his body from the morgue after two hours to deny his murder by gunfire.
A 16-year-old boy in Zanjan has been killed with five shots fired by security forces on Wednesday, September 21 (with pellet projectiles). Eyewitnesses said that on that day, officers employed by the Islamic Republic were firing directly at crowds with shotguns. After he fell to the ground, security agents then approached and hit him several times with their batons. He was taken to hospital, but did not survive. The next morning his family was told his body could not be returned to them due to pressure from the security agencies. Officers only permitted close relatives to attend his burial, which was held under their surveillance. The family were then warned that if they publicly stated that Mehdi had been killed by police, other relatives would be “made to disappear”. Instead, they were told to say he had been killed by “the monafeqin” (hypocrites). In the biography section of his Instagram page, Mehdi had written: "And one day, we will come to an end.”
After over a week of believing their son was detained, the family of a15 years old boy were informed that their son was shot dead in the chest by Iranian security forces in Iran’s western Kurdish region (Rojhelat). Amir Hossein Basati was killed in the Kurdish city of Kermanshah on September 21 by “direct fire from anti-riot forces” .The teenager’s body “was given to his family after nine days under tight security,” His father a retired basiji himself has since been arrested.
Fereshte, mother of 2 was shot on the roof of her house. She was holding her infant child on the evening of Thursday, October 27 when she was shot in the chest. She was hit by a war bullet from government forces and lost her life. The government's security requested that her funeral be held at night, which was met with strong opposition from the family. However, they did not allow Fereshte's body to be transferred to Sardasht, where she was born in. The photo of Ahmadi’s daughter on her grave crying with her fist clenched went viral on Iranian and Kurdish social media, prompting the authorities to claim that she was not killed by the security forces, but rather by ‘rioters’, the word they use to describe protesters.
She was killed on the 31st of October in Oromieh by gun shot. The family was under pressure to announce that she died as a result of a car accident, they denied the lie as a result she was buried late at night with only her father present. Even her mother was not allowed to attend her funeral.
He was a Baloochi man killed by live emanation in Zahedan on 30th of September also known as bloody Friday were at least 92 people were shot after Friday prayers.
Mahsa Magoi 18, was an athlete and a Taekwondo prodigy
She was killed in Isfahan by bullet but the regime denies her being killed in the protests. They say she was killed by ‘some unknown people’ and this ‘happened to be ‘ at the same time as the demonstrations in her city. Her father has bravely refused to lie about his daughter’s murder. There was a huge demonstration after her funeral.
Sam was injured when he was writing slogans on the walls. He ran into a building but was shot in the neck and died. After the incident all cctv cameras in the area were confiscated. His body was stolen and was buried secretly in an unknown place. Sam’s friends and family had a ceremony for him in which they were attacked by the security forces with tear gas.
Javad was one of many killed in the “Bloody Friday” in Baloochestan when the crowds were shot at by the regime, with live ammunition, after Friday prayers.
Kurdish Arian was shot in his face and neck in the streets of Salasbabajani, a deprived small town in Iran. His funeral turned in to an emotional protest.
He was shot when he went to protect a woman from brutal beating of repression force of islamic regime . He died from his injuries on 26th of November 2022 in Tehran.
20 year old Hamidreza Rouhi was shot and killed by the regime last night. His last instagram post reads: “If the internet gets shut down forever, I want this to be my last post: Long live women, Long live freedom, Long live Iran.” The regime tried to claim him as their own martyr, saying he was basij and was killed by the protesters but did not succeed. He was a child model and a passionate motorcyclist. His friends in his honour did a rally in Tehran carrying his image on their bikes.
The Islamic Republic murdered 15 years old Mohammad Zamani by directly shooting at his chest during protests in Saveh Road on September 21, 2022.
He was a street vender and was shot going home after a long day. The security forces then told the family that “if you know who has shot your son please tell us!” And “ in our eyes he was a martyr killed by the enemy”…The family refused to lie and said that they knew their son was killed by the regime. As a consequence they had to burry Mokhtar’s body at night quietly and were not allowed to have a memorial service for him. Mukhtar was from Marivan, a Kurdish town in the North West of Iran.