Iranian Families Defy Pressure, Honor Fallen Protesters

Iranian families honored the memory of those lost in recent protests by visiting their graves on the last Thursday of the Persian year.

In a longstanding tradition, Iranians pay respects to departed loved ones on the final Thursday of the Persian calendar year.

On March 14, numerous people and families mourning those lost in recent protests gathered at gravesites, commemorating their memory by sharing videos and images across social media platforms.

Their shared content included images and videos from the graves of individuals such as Mahsa Mogoei, a taekwondo champion; Aylar Haghi, a medical student; Mohsen Mousavi, who died in a Tehran market; Abolfazl Mehdipour and Hamidreza Rohi, among many other victims of a violent crackdown on peaceful protests.

In Sanandaj, the provincial capital of western Kurdistan province, families gathered at the gravesites of victims despite heavy security presence. 

In Lorestan, the family of Nika Shakrami adorned her grave with flowers. 

Nika, 16, disappeared on September 20, 2022, during a street protest in Tehran. When she did not return home by midnight, her family spent days searching for her in prisons, detention centers, police offices, and hospitals.

The family finally found Nika's body after ten days, almost by chance, in a detention center morgue.

The mother of Mohammad Javad Zahedi, another casualty of a crackdown on recent protests, shared on her Instagram page the "heaviness and pain of this day compared to the year before."

Social media also saw the circulation of a video featuring the grieving parents of Shaho Bahmani, another victim, paying respects at their child's grave.

Similarly, a video showcased the family of Sina Naderi, a victim from Kermanshah, setting up the traditional New Year Haftsin table at his gravesite. 

Despite efforts by the Islamic Republic to suppress ceremonies and memorials for these fallen individuals by pressuring grieving families, the resilience of remembrance persists.

Mahsa Amini's September 16, 2022, death in custody after her arrest for "improper" hijab sparked the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran, resulting in months of protests.

More than 500 people were killed in the ensuing crackdown by security forces on the protests. Over 20,000 people, including dozens of lawyers, were unlawfully detained.

Following biased trials, the judiciary handed down rigid sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.

The Islamic Republic has so far executed at least nine young protesters.