This page keeps the memory of 27 people whose names are linked with Varamin, in the province of Tehran. The first date on this page is 14 Dey 1388 and the last 18 Dey 1404. 16 of them were killed in protests, 7 were executed and 2 were killed by government forces. For 2 others no ending has yet been written: they have been sentenced to death.
Years and days
The names from Varamin are gathered in two periods. In the first years, the names are scattered: one name in 1388, one name in 1389, 3 names in 1390, one name in 1392 and one name in 1396; the days 14 Dey 1388, 25 Shahrivar 1389, 5 Mehr 1390 and 4 Aban 1390 have one name each. Then come 2 names in 1401, and finally the year 1404 with 18 names, two thirds of this page. The day 18 Dey 1404, with 5 killed, is the day with the most names on this page.
The ages range from 15 to 53 years, and the median is 26 years. 3 people were under 18, and the sources have written of 2 people that they were women; one of them is Sahar Fard, about whom you will read below.
Sahar Fard and Mohammad Mousaei
Zeynab (Sahar) Fard, 38 years old, was “a well-known taekwondo coach and referee” and “had become Tehran champion and national runner-up in taekwondo.” She was also a coach in poomsae, Pilates and bodybuilding. On 18 Dey 1404 she was killed by a military bullet to the head near Kalantari Square in Qarchak.
Mohammad Mousaei, 26 years old, “father of a four-year-old child,” is called by the source “a brave, family-loving man devoted to the Pahlavi family.” According to the source, the forces stationed on the Centennial building in the area of Kalantari Square fired at the protesters, and a bullet struck his head. “The security forces abandoned his body in the desert,” and his family were not able to bury him in the cemetery of their choice.
Amirhossein Pourjafar Katamjani
Amirhossein Pourjafar Katamjani, 19 years old, lived with his father, mother and three sisters in the village of Kheirabad in Varamin. “When he was three months old, as a result of a high fever and convulsions, one of his ears became hard of hearing and one of his legs disabled.” His only friend called him “calm” and “withdrawn.” His family have said: “Whatever broke in the house, Amirhossein fixed it.” He was executed on 14 Dey 1396 in Varamin Prison and was buried “in silence and without anyone knowing” in his village. His father has spoken of his grandchildren being harassed at school and of family ties breaking apart after his son's execution. The charge brought against him is the court's account, not proof of guilt.
What we do not know
For most of these 27 people, our sources have written nothing but a name and a date and sometimes an age. We do not know who those executed in the years 1388 to 1396 were, and we do not know in which prison the two people who have been sentenced to death are today and what fate awaits them. We have details of life for only 3 people. The charge attributed to those sentenced and executed is the account of the authorities, not a verdict of guilt.
Sources and incompleteness
These 27 names are not all of those from Varamin who lost their lives or have been sentenced; the real number is higher, and for Varamin, too, we have included only names that have a report behind them. The sources of this page are HRANA / Human Rights Activists in Iran and Iran International with 9 cases each, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center with 7, the Iran Human Rights Society and iranhrs.org with 5 each, and Persian Wikipedia, independentpersian.com and hanahr.org with 2 cases each; one name also appears in the list of the Office of the Presidency dated 12 Bahman 1404. If you knew one of these 27 people or have news of the fate of the two people sentenced on this page, send it to us.