Iran: 4 Teenagers Killed As Crackdown Against Protesters Escalate

22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death led to protests in Iran which spread internationally. Iranian authorities and security forces retaliated against the demonstrations with violent crackdowns and internet restrictions. The brutal crackdowns have taken the lives of protesters and children.

Large groups of Iranians took to the streets and joined anti-government protests after Amini was killed in the custody of the morality police. She was detained for wearing her hijab "improperly". Women took to the streets to express their anger and burnt their hijabs and cut their hair in public in defiance.

According to Iran's Human Rights Activists News Agency, 244 protesters, including 32 children were killed by security forces in the crackdown.

Teenagers Killed In Iran Protests

Nika Shakarami

The death of 16-year-old Nika Shakarami marked one of the first deaths of a minor in the violent crackdowns. On September 20, 2022, she went missing after she took part in the protests. Ten days later her family was informed of her death.

Shakarami's family were not allowed to see the body and were only allowed to look at her face for a few seconds for identification purposes. Her mother and aunt saw that her nose was smashed and her skull was broken.

Her death certificate cited 'multiple blows cause by a hard object' as the cause of death.

Nika Shakarami

Asra Panahi

Following the tragic death of Nika Shakarami, Iranian schoolgirls joined the protests against the government and the strict hijab rule. A powerful video of schoolgirls waving their hijabs and shouting anti-regime slogans went viral.

Iranian authorities launched a series of raids on schools across the country. In a raid, teenager Asra Panahi was beaten to death after she refused to sing a pro-regime anthem.

Security forces raided the Shahed girls' high school in Ardabil on October 13 and demanded that students sing the anthem. When the students refused, security forces beat them up. Seven students were injured, ten students were taken to an unknown location, and Panahi succumbed to her injuries.

Asra Panahi

Suggested Reading: Iran Schoolgirls Join Protests Against Hijab: This Is A Movement Lead By Young Minds

Abolfazl Adinezadeh

The 17-year-old was shot and killed when he attended an anti-government protest. The security forces fired at him with a shotgun at point-blank range.

Abolfazl Adinezadeh had skipped school to attend the protest when he was killed by security forces. He passed away as a result of liver and kidney damage caused by being shot by the shotgun.

Sources told BBC that his family was warned not to speak with the media and pressured into saying their late son was a member of the Basij, a notorious paramilitary force involved in violent crackdowns against protesters.

Abolfazl Adinezadeh

Sarina Esmailzadeh

On September 23, 2022, 16-year-old Sarina Esmailzadeh died due to an alleged severe beating by security forces during protests in Karaj, Alborz province, Iran.

Iranian authorities denied any responsibility for her death and claimed that the teenager died by suicide after she jumped from a roof. Similar claims had been made about Shakarami as well.

According to local news outlets, Esmailzadeh's mother was mocked by security forces when she attempted to retrieve her body. After finally seeing her daughter's battered body, she reportedly went home and died by suicide.