This page keeps the memory of 136 people of Zanjan. The list begins on 18 Mehr 1389 and reaches 5 Mehr 1405. 105 of these people were executed and 28 were killed in protests. One person lost their life in custody, one person was killed outside the protests and one other person by government forces.
Years and days
The year 1404, with 67 names, is nearly half of this page, and the day 18 Dey 1404, with 12 killed, is the bitterest day of Zanjan on this list. In the same year, on 31 Ordibehesht 1404 and 17 Tir 1404, 3 people were executed each time. The years 1398 and 1401 with 10 names each, 1403 and 1405 with 9 names each, and 1396 with 7 names and 1400 with 6 names also have a notable share. The days 30 Shahrivar 1401 and 5 Mehr 1405, the last day of this list, have 3 names each.
The ages range from 16 to 67 years, and the median is 34 years. 7 of these 136 people were under 18, and the sources have written of 12 people that they were women.
Two brothers: Siamand and Ghahreman Mirza
The first names on this page belong to two brothers. Siamand Mirza, 33 years old, and Ghahreman Mirza, 34 years old, were both “unskilled labourers.” Ghahreman, according to the source, “had emigrated to Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan during Saddam's rule” and “was married and had two daughters.” Siamand “was married and had one son,” and the source says he “was known among the prisoners for his generosity and self-sacrifice”; once he took responsibility for drugs found on another prisoner so that the latter would not be deprived of visits.
Both brothers were hanged at dawn on 18 Mehr 1389 in the grounds of Zanjan Central Prison, “without the presence of a lawyer and his family.” Before the execution Siamand had asked to see his young child, who was in the same prison with his mother; this request was refused. Their father, according to the source, when he had gone to Zanjan to get news of his sons, “died of the shock of hearing the news of the execution of his two sons.”
Arshia Barari
Arshia Barari, 25 years old, was killed on 18 Dey 1404. The source introduces him as “an English teacher and a master's student with an excellent grade average” and writes: “Barari was a national fitness champion, an international Kyokushin champion, a professional bodybuilder and an official trainer of the World K9 Federation.” He was also a trainer of guard dogs. A military bullet struck his kidney, and according to the source, “Arshia's half-alive body lay on the ground for an hour and the agents did not allow anyone to give him aid.” After his death, accounts were published by people close to the government accusing him of attacking a police station.
Executed fathers
About several other people executed in Zanjan, the sources have spoken only of their children. Mehdi Gorgij, 50 years old, who was executed on 17 Esfand 1402, “was the father of two children.” Ali Ezzati, 45 years old, who was executed on 16 Tir 1403, was also “the father of two children.” The charges in the cases of these people are what the authorities or the sources have stated, not a verdict of guilt.
Sources and incompleteness
These 136 names are not all of those from Zanjan who lost their lives. The real number is higher, and for many executions no name has been published; we record no name without a source. The main sources of this page are the Iran Human Rights Society with 68 cases, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center with 37, HRANA with 30 and 20 cases, Iran International with 15, Iran Human Rights with 9, Persian Wikipedia with 7, independentpersian.com with 6, and English Wikipedia and IranWire with 4 cases each. We have a description of life for only 6 people, and some entries have one source. If you knew one of these people of Zanjan, send us your memory or correction.