Slain Protester's Mother Mocked by Security Forces

Erfan Rezaei, born in 2001, is one of the many who lost his life in the protests of September 21, 2022, in Amol, Mazandaran province, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.

IranWire spoke to one of Erfan Rezaei's relatives about what happened to him in the hands of security agents – and the effect on his family.

Mahsa was from Saqqez, Iranian Kurdistan, and following her death, Kurdish parties in the province called for a general strike. The longest anti-government protests since the 1979 Islamic Revolution began on the same day. Erfan Rezaei was killed during these first few days of protests.

He was book-loving, thoughtful and studious young man who, according to a source close to the family, had been reading books by Nietzsche, Sadegh Hedayat, and Dostoevsky since he was 15 years old. He had become bored with Iran’s ideological education system and said that he did not want to continue his education in such a "brainwashing" system.

"Erfan's father is a veteran of the [1980-88] Iran-Iraq War,” a source close to the family told IranWire. “He was 18 years old when he suffered an explosion and chemical attack on the way to defend the country. Erfan's childhood was spent in a house where only someone who has lived with a veteran knows what kind of excruciating conditions they go through. Despite his condition, the boy grew up to be knowledgeable and enlightened. He was always grateful to his mother. He took care of others. In the case of Mahsa Amini's death, his anger was greater than his sadness. He didn't stay at home."

"Erfan's family is going to try to access the forensic studies,” the source added. “They were told that two shots were fired at Erfan from a distance of five meters, ne to the shoulder and one to the stomach, which caused the rupture of the spleen.”

The shots were fired at such close range that they exited through Erfan’s back, the source said. A confused several hours then ensued when the family thought Erfan was in surgery but was in fact delayed in being taken to the hospital.

September 21 in Amol, Mazandaran

"On the evening of September 21, the city was very crowded,” IranWire’s source said. “Security forces were on standby. There was chanting and shooting from everywhere. Erfan called his mother and said to not worry because he wanted to walk. He said that his mother is worried about him and his 18-year-old brother. … The relationship between Erfan and his mother was beyond mother and child – they were very close friends."

According to videos from Amol, there were fierce clashes between the people and security forces in front of the governorate. Security forces were shooting at protesters and set fire to parts of the governorate building. A few videos show security agents were running away from protesters – who had repulsed their attacked – but most show people fleeing as police and security forces fired on them.

At 730pm, Erfan's mother called him and his brother again: "Ermia answered his mother's phone and told her that they were in front of the municipality building. There was a lot of noise. They fired tear gas. Everyone's eyes were burning. After that, we didn't see Erfan anymore and he didn't answer his phone either."

The source said Erfan Rezaei's family searched for him until about 830pm. His phone was not picking up and no one knew what had happened: "One of their relatives, who was a soldier, informed his family that Erfan was in the detention center of the Intelligence Department. Erfan's mother was very anxious and worried. They went to stand outside the intelligence detention center. They were told that a simple interrogation would be conducted and then Erfan would be released. But another person called Erfan's family who witnessed him being shot."

According to this person, all of Erfan's friends and family went to the city hospital after this call: "His mother saw Erfan's name in the admission list. She ran straight to the operating room, but the nurses stopped her and said that the people there had not been identified and it was not clear whether her son was there or not."

This was even though, according to Erfan's relatives, he had his identification documents and especially his bank card with him: "When we gave Erfan's details, several people present said that they saw him when he was conscious. One of the nurses also mentioned the name of the doctor who operated on Erfan, but that doctor had told Erfan's mother that there was no such person among his patients. And as late as 930pm it remained unclear whether Erfan was in the operating room."

In the meantime, Erfan's mother saw a black shirt that bore marks of bullet wounds, and she recognized it. "Erfan's mother was distraught bad when she saw the shirt. She shouted repeatedly, 'This is my child's shirt, why doesn't anyone tell me where he is?' A security guard who was there smiled and mockingly told Erfan's mother, 'Well, it's your child's shirt, take it away, no need for all this fuss.' Her screams brought more agents who tried to silence her."

People around Erfan’s mother were trying to calm her so that she would not be arrested. "But Erfan's mother, after seeing the shirt, was sure that Erfan was there. She went to the nurse again and detailed the tattoos on Erfan's hand. The nurse was terrified. She said, ‘It’s full of agents [here], and I don't know about the operating room, but two bodies were there. Come and see if your child is one of them.' But Erfan's mother couldn't bear it and they didn't let anyone else go to see the bodies."

Erfan’s friends and family were eventually made to leave. "Everyone was confused, Erfan's mother could not stand anymore. The ambulance took out some of the dead in front of their eyes. Finally, they were told that if Erfan was killed, he might have been taken to an unknown location or to the Imamzadeh Abdollah morgue, which is the city's cemetery. Erfan's mother collapsed after hearing these words and they had to hospitalize her,” the source told IranWire.

The family returned home at around midnight. One of Erfan's uncles went to the morgue with his father's veteran card: "Erfan was identified there … two days later on Saturday, September 24, the family was finally able to recover the body."

A source close to Erfan Rezaei's told IranWire: "At half past seven in the morning, his mother was taken to see Erfan: "His mother said that she had never seen a dead person before, but she went to the morgue and kissed Erfan's cold face and said goodbye to him. Then she noticed a deep wound on Erfan's head. Erfan had been autopsied and seeing this scene was devastating for Erfan's mother. She said that even after washing the body, blood was still coming from the side of the cotton that was placed on the wound."

According to this source, close to Erfan Rezaei's family, Erfan's body was handed over only on the condition that the funeral ceremony be held in absolute silence and even then this was allowed only because Erfan’s father was a veteran. For days after the burial, agents monitored the home and family.

Eighteen days had passed since Erfan’s death, the source added, and still no one knows exactly what happened to him: "His family is planning to follow up, but apparently because his father is alive, they would not give the medical file to his mother. His father was taken to the hospital again because he had to undergo surgery [for his own medical issues]. No one knows exactly what happened to Erfan. Was he killed immediately? Did he die due to heavy bleeding in the operating room? Was he neglected and arrived late due to the volume of traffic that night? A thousand unknowns remain for Erfan’s family."