Mohammad Taha Sepahvandunder 18

محمد طاها سپهوند

Also known as Mohammad Taha Sepahvand

16 years old · Khorramabad · Lorestan Province

9 January 2026 Killed during protests

Life

For a 16-year-old in the 2020s to adopt it as a personal motto underscores the deep sense of historical duty felt by many Iranian Generation Z protesters during these uprisings.
Persian original
For a 16-year-old in the 2020s to adopt it as a personal motto underscores the deep sense of historical duty felt by many Iranian Generation Z protesters during these uprisings.

He was a ninth-grade student and wanted to become "a famous person".
Persian original
او دانش‌آموز کلاس نهم بود و دوست داشت «آدم معروفی» شود.
Khorramabad is the heart of Lorestan province.
Persian original
Khorramabad is the heart of Lorestan province.
Naser Khosrow is a central, well-known street that witnessed intense clashes during the January 2026 protests.
Persian original
Naser Khosrow is a central, well-known street that witnessed intense clashes during the January 2026 protests.

How they died

Mohammadtaha Sepahvand, a 16-year-old teenager, was stopped on Friday, 19 Dey 1404, in the protests on "Naser Khosrow" Street in "Khorramabad", Lorestan, by birdshot of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic to his legs, and killed by a live round to his chest.
Persian original
محمدطاها سپهوند نوجوان ۱۶ساله، جمعه ۱۹دی۱۴۰۴ در اعتراضات خیابان «ناصر خسرو» در «خرم‌آباد» لرستان، با گلوله ساچمه‌ای نیروهای مسلح جمهوری اسلامی به پاهایش متوقف شد و با گلوله جنگی به سینه‌اش کشته شد.
This teenager who was killed always said: "Better to die with a name than to live in disgrace!"
Persian original
این نوجوان کشته‌شده همیشه می‌گفت: «بمیری به‌نام، اما نمانی به ننگ!»
According to information obtained by IranWire, Mohammad-Taha Sepahvand, a 16-year-old ninth-grade student, was killed by an AK-47 (Kalashnikov) bullet fired by Islamic Republic suppression forces on the evening of January 9 in Khorramabad.
Persian original
According to information obtained by IranWire, Mohammad-Taha Sepahvand, a 16-year-old ninth-grade student, was killed by an AK-47 (Kalashnikov) bullet fired by Islamic Republic suppression forces on the evening of January 9 in Khorramabad.
Sources confirmed to IranWire that the teenage protester died on Naser Khosrow Street in Khorramabad after being struck by a bullet to the chest and pellet shots to the legs.
Persian original
Sources confirmed to IranWire that the teenage protester died on Naser Khosrow Street in Khorramabad after being struck by a bullet to the chest and pellet shots to the legs.
IranWire was told that agents first shot his legs with pellets and then targeted his chest.
Persian original
IranWire was told that agents first shot his legs with pellets and then targeted his chest.
According to an informed source, Mohammad-Taha’s friends informed his family that same night that he had been taken to hospital.
Persian original
According to an informed source, Mohammad-Taha’s friends informed his family that same night that he had been taken to hospital.

After their death

The sequence of shooting, first the legs, then the chest, is a chilling detail, suggesting the victim was first immobilized before a lethal shot was delivered to his upper body.
Persian original
The sequence of shooting, first the legs, then the chest, is a chilling detail, suggesting the victim was first immobilized before a lethal shot was delivered to his upper body.
Ultimately, they handed the child’s body over to his family from the morgue.”
Persian original
Ultimately, they handed the child’s body over to his family from the morgue.”
According to the source, security forces pressured the family to identify Mohammad-Taha as a “Basiji” or a state “martyr,” but the family resisted.
Persian original
According to the source, security forces pressured the family to identify Mohammad-Taha as a “Basiji” or a state “martyr,” but the family resisted.
“They told them, ‘Declare him a martyr so you can hold the ceremony properly and without trouble,’ but his family refused.
Persian original
“They told them, ‘Declare him a martyr so you can hold the ceremony properly and without trouble,’ but his family refused.

Sources

The name is recorded in at least two independent sources or in a human-rights organisation’s report.

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