This page keeps the memory of 74 tradespeople and shopkeepers; hairdressers, florists, sellers of carpets and clothing, phone repairers, dry cleaners and shop assistants. The first date on this page is 30 Khordad 1388 and the last 9 Mehr 1405.
The manner of death
This page differs from most occupation pages in one respect: the largest number, 43 people, were killed by government forces outside the protests. 19 people were killed in protests, 10 people were executed and one person lost their life in custody. One person also faces a charge that carries the death penalty. The source that has recorded the most names is the Kurdistan Human Rights Network with 46 cases.
The names are spread over many years. The year 1398, with 17 names, has the largest share, and after it come 1395 with 10 names, 1396 with 8, and 1404 also with 8 names. On 12 Mordad 1395, 4 of these tradespeople and on 18 Dey 1404, 3 lost their lives. Karaj with 9 names, Tehran with 6, and Kermanshah and Chaldoran with 3 names each have the highest numbers. The ages range from 19 to 59 years, and the median is 27 years. The sources have written of one person that she was a woman, and for 48 people a description of life is available.
Behind the counter
Fereshteh Ahmadi, 32 years old, owner of a photography and photocopy shop in Mahabad and mother of two children aged three and eight, who had a master's degree in computer science and seriously pursued photography, was killed on 5 Aban 1401, on her thirty-second birthday. Fouad Ghadimi, 40 years old, who had had a dry cleaner's in Divandarreh since the age of 17 and was a staunch Esteghlal supporter, lost his life on 30 Shahrivar 1401; those close to him have described him as “calm, humorous, generous, family-loving.” Rahim Kalij, 27 years old, who had a mobile phone repair shop in Qaemshahr and was the only son of the family, was killed on the same day. Sepehr Azami, 24 years old, who in 1401 had opened a hairdresser's in Kamalshahr in Karaj and had a dog named “Teddy,” was targeted with a shotgun from close range on 15 Azar 1401.
Mohammad Jamehbozorg, 59 years old, a carpet seller, was killed at the beginning of Mehr 1401 in his own home in Malard. These sentences remain from his last moments: “We have done nothing that we should run away,” and “Even if there are a thousand of you, you cannot take me without a warrant.” Sina Haghshenas, 27 years old, owner of the “Shahdeh” flower shop in Gorgan, was killed on 18 Dey 1404; his family performed a “dance of mourning” in his memory. Bahman Jenabi, 19 years old, who worked in a building services shop and had tied a green cloth to his motorcycle, lost his life on 30 Khordad 1388 in Tehran; the first name on this page.
Those executed
Kaveh (Khaled) Veisi, 32 years old, an assistant in a clothing shop, whose child was born on the very night of his arrest, was executed on 12 Mordad 1395. Asghar Rahimi, 26 years old, who had a technical shop in the industrial park of Sanandaj and knitted clothes for his daughter in prison, and Mohammadzaher Bahmani, 23 years old, an apprentice in his brother's lathe workshop in Marivan, were executed on 7 Dey 1391. Mohsen Jelokhani, 26 years old, owner of a clothing boutique who provided for five sisters and one brother, on 25 Dey 1395. The charges are the account of the authorities, not a verdict of guilt.
Sources and incompleteness
These 74 names are not all of the tradespeople who have lost their lives. The main sources are the Kurdistan Human Rights Network with 46 cases, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center with 23, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (English-language) with 20, the Iran Human Rights Society with 12, iranhrs.org with 11, Persian Wikipedia, Iran International and Iran International with 8 each, HRANA / Human Rights Activists in Iran with 6 and iranintl.com with 5 cases. If you were a customer or neighbour of one of these shops, send us your memory or correction.