Rasht

This page keeps the memory of 325 people of Rasht, the capital of the province of Gilan; from 11 Ordibehesht 1388 to 9 Shahrivar 1405. 171 of them were killed in protests and 134 were executed. 6 people lost their lives in custody, one person was killed outside the protests and one other person by government forces. 6 people have been sentenced to death, 3 people are at risk of execution, the sentence of one person has been upheld and 2 people face a charge that carries the death penalty.

Two days in Dey 1404

The year 1404, with 213 names, is nearly two thirds of this page. The day 19 Dey 1404 with 45 killed and the day 18 Dey 1404 with 39 killed are the bitterest days of Rasht on this list. The year 1401, with 26 names, is the second year of this page, and on 31 Shahrivar 1401 and 17 Mehr 1401, 4 people gave their lives each time. Before that, the year 1392 appears with 14 names and the year 1399 with 10 names, and on 23 Ordibehesht 1392, 7 people were executed on a single day.

The ages range from 12 to 76 years, and the median is 33 years. 12 of these people were under 18, and the sources have written of 25 people that they were women. For 36 people we have details of their life.

Saadi Street

Azar Nasirpour, 52 years old, lived in Karaj, was “the mother of two children,” and had come to Rasht to visit her family. Her friends say: “She knew how to laugh, she knew how to give energy, she knew how to change the mood of the house.” She was hit by a bullet on 18 Dey 1404 in Saadi Street and lost her life at around four in the morning of the next day in Golsar Hospital. Her close friend Leila Yaghoubi, 47 years old, “mother of two daughters aged 20 and 7,” had come with her from Lasht-e Nesha and was killed a few minutes later. The source writes that she used to say: why should the young people sacrifice their lives so that we can live. Now, according to the source, “Leila Yaghoubi and Azar Nasirpour rest side by side in the cemetery of ‘Lasht-e Nesha’.”

Other lives from Rasht

Masoud Zatparvar, 39 years old, was “a two-time world champion in classic physique” and was killed on 18 Dey 1404 by a military bullet. His father, Dr Majid Zatparvar, died of a heart attack after his son's death. Youhanna Mirpadyab, 39 years old, was a firefighter who was dispatched to put out the fire at the bazaar and was hit by a bullet in Takhti Street while on duty. “Youhanna loved motorcycles.” Hossein Pouryousefi Abatari, 19 years old, had completed a pastry-making course and wanted to set up his own workshop in Rasht. Milad Afrookhteh, 33 years old, a goalkeeper and youth football coach in Sangar, was killed in Motahari Street. Shahriar Hassan Zarabadi, 65 years old, son of the master violinist Naser Hassan Zarabadi, had come from Cologne to visit his mother. Sara Behboudi, 45 years old, was a mountaineer and had climbed the peak of Shah Moallem.

Behnam Layeghpour, 36 years old, had a tattoo studio and “also looked after four cats.” He was killed on 30 Shahrivar 1401 near Sabzeh Meydan, and his family was made to pledge that they would declare the cause of death as “a heart attack or an accident.”

Those executed

Delara Darabi, 22 years old, “was an artistic girl who had painted since the age of ten.” She was executed on 11 Ordibehesht 1388, although, according to the source, the head of the judiciary had ordered the sentence to be halted for 2 months; the first name on this page. Masoumeh Karimi, 37 years old, was executed on 23 Esfand 1399 in Lakan Prison. “Ms Karimi had a three-year-old son.” The charges given for those executed are what the authorities stated, not a verdict of guilt.

Sources and incompleteness

325 names are not all of those from Rasht who lost their lives; the real number is higher, and we record only a name that has a source. The main sources are HRANA / Human Rights Activists in Iran with 120 cases, Iran International with 109, the Iran Human Rights Society with 97, iranhrs.org with 73, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center with 66, HRANA with 48, Persian Wikipedia with 35, and Hengaw with 17 and IranWire with 16 cases; 13 names also appear in the list of the Office of the Presidency dated 12 Bahman 1404. Some entries have only one source. If you knew one of these people of Rasht, send us your memory or correction.