Death of Sarina Esmailzadeh

On 23 September 2022, Iranian teenager Sarina Esmailzadeh (Persian: سارینا اسماعیل‌زاده‎) died of alleged severe beating on the head by security forces during protests in Karaj, Alborz province, Iran, according to human rights organizations. She was 16 years old. The local Justice Department denied any responsibility for her death, and claimed that she committed suicide after jumping from a roof, and that she had a history of drug abuse. Similar claims were made by the authorities about 17 year-old Nika Shakarami who died in the protests as well.

Circumstances of death

According to Amnesty International and Iran Human Rights, Sarina died from being struck with batons on the head to bleeding in Gohardasht neighborhood of Karaj, near her language school where protests were taking place. Since it was impossible to transfer her to a hospital, people took her to a house in the neighborhood for treatment, but she died on the way. The family was notified about her death at the hands of the security forces later that evening by her friends who were with her at the protests. Her family was under pressure from security and intelligence agents to stay silent on the matter, especially in regards to communication with foreign media, and to support the authorities' version of the events. Similar pressures were exerted on the families of other victims of the protests.

Cover-up

According to Iran International, the authorities tried to cover up the circumstances of her death. The Iranian authorities claimed that the family had gone to the prosecutor’s office in order to deposit a complaint about the social media reports, that said she had been killed in the protests. In a possibly staged interview on government-affiliated Mehr News Agency with a person who was alleged to be her mother (a claim disputed by other witnesses), the person denied that the government was involved in Esmailzadeh's death, and stated that Esmailzadeh had had a history of suicide attempts. According to family acquaintances, 50 security agents were present at her funeral, to prevent the outbreak of a protest, and video recording was forbidden at the cemetary. Her death certificate was taken by the authorities but never returned to the family, whose phones are constantly being monitored. Reports mention that pictures and messages of condolence have been removed from the facade of her home, only a day after the funeral, and the family's lawyer was not allowed access to the case file of the investigation into Sarina's death, according to IHR.

Background

Sarina Esmailzadeh was born on 2 July 2006. According to media sources, she was an accomplished student who spoke English and French in addition to Persian, and was also a YouTuber who shared videos about topics such as women's rights, freedom, food, music and dancing.

Esmailzadeh recorded and posted several videos on social media before her death. In one of them, after finishing school exams, she stated "Nothing feels better than freedom". In another she stated "We all know what’s it like in Iran. What do people in any country want: welfare, welfare, welfare,... There are these restrictions for women, like compulsory hijab ... We can't even go to a stadium [to watch football]". In her last video on Telegram, she said, "My homeland feels like being in exile".

References

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