Nikta Esfandaniunder 18

نیکتا اسفندانی

14 years old · Tehran

Aban 1398 Killed during protests

Life

• She was the second child of a family of four and had an older sister
  Persian original

  او فرزند دوم یک خانواده چهار نفره و دارای یک خواهر بزرگ‌تر بود

• Alongside her studies, Nikta had a remarkable interest in the performing arts and seriously pursued theatre acting.
  Persian original

  نیکتا در کنار تحصیل علاقه قابل توجهی به هنرهای نمایشی داشت و هنرپیشگی تئاتر را به‌طور جدی دنبال می‌کرد.

• Nikta had also performed roles on stage in several plays.
  Persian original

  نیکتا در چند نمایش نیز روی صحنه ایفای نقش کرده بود.

• Playing the guitar was another of her interests, which she had recently started learning.
  Persian original

  نواختن گیتار از دیگر علاقه‌مندی‌های او بود که آموزش آن را به‌تازگی آغاز کرده بود.

• She was also a devoted listener of rap music, and her clothing was often influenced by hip-hop style.
  Persian original

  همچنین از مخاطبان جدی موسیقی رپ به‌شمار می‌رفت و پوشش او اغلب تحت‌تأثیر سبک هیپ‌هاپ بود.

• Nikta was described as a “passionate and brave” teenager who resisted bullying and unjust behaviour
  Persian original

  نیکتا نوجوانی «پرشور و شجاع» توصیف می‌شد که در برابر زورگویی و رفتارهای ناعادلانه مقاومت می‌کرد

• She objected to compulsory hijab and strove to achieve individual freedoms
  Persian original

  او نسبت به حجاب اجباری اعتراض داشت و برای دستیابی به آزادی‌های فردی تلاش می‌کرد

• She was a lively teenager full of the passion of life
  Persian original

  نوجوانی سرزنده و پر از شور زندگی بود

In the words of those close to them

“Nikta left home to visit a friend and never came back.

Persian original

«نیکتا برای دیدار دوستی از خانه بیرون رفت و دیگر برنگشت.

They said we had to say it was poisoning so that they would give back her body…

Persian original

گفتند باید بگوییم مسمومیت بوده تا پیکرش را پس بدهند…

It is as if they still cannot believe that Nikta is gone.”

Persian original

انگار هنوز نمی‌تواند باور کند که نیکتا دیگر نیست.»

How they died

• During the popular protests against the rise in petrol prices in the Sattarkhan neighbourhood of Tehran, she was hit in the head by birdshot
  Persian original

  در جریان اعتراضات مردمی نسبت به گرانی بنزین در محله ستارخان تهران از ناحیه سر هدف شلیک گلوله ساچمه‌ای قرار گرفت

• Traces of two holes were visible on her temple and forehead, which appeared to have been caused by birdshot
  Persian original

  آثار دو سوراخ بر روی گیجگاه و پیشانی او دیده می‌شد که ناشی از اصابت گلوله ساچمه‌ای به نظر میرسید

• Nikta Esfandani, 14 years old, on Sattarkhan Street in Tehran
  Persian original

  نیکتا اسفندانی، ۱۴ ساله، در خیابان ستارخان تهران

After their death

• In the official forensic medicine report, the cause of death was given as “food and drug poisoning”
  Persian original

  در گزارش رسمی پزشکی قانونی، علت فوت «مسمومیت غذایی و دارویی» اعلام شد

• The process of handing over Nikta Esfandani's body took four days
  Persian original

  روند تحویل پیکر نیکتا اسفندانی چهار روز به طول انجامید

• The handover of the body and the identification of the person in question are conditional on the family giving an interview
  Persian original

  تحویل پیکر و معرفی فرد مورد نظر منوط به انجام مصاحبه‌ای از سوی خانواده است

• This video interview was recorded at home in the presence of Nikta's father and her grandmother while Nikta Esfandani's body was still in the morgue, and was broadcast some time later on the programme 20:30 of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
  Persian original

  این مصاحبه تصویری در حالی که هنوز پیکر نیکتا اسفندانی در سردخانه بود با حضور پدر نیکتا و مادر بزرگش در منزل ضبط و مدتی بعد در برنامه ۲۰:۳۰ از صدا و سیما جمهوری اسلامی ایران پخش شد

• The judiciary issued a non-prosecution order on the complaint of Nikta Esfandani's family regarding the death of their child
  Persian original

  قوه قضائیه به شکایت خانواده نیکتا اسفندانی در خصوص مرگ فرزندشان قرار منع تعقیب صادر کرد

• Her only sister, who was older than Nikta, has also fallen into depression
  Persian original

  تنها خواهر او که بزرگتر از نیکتا بود و نیز به افسردگی دچار شده است

Sources

1. Persian Wikipedia
2. Radio Farda
3. Radio Farda
4. Abdorrahman Boroumand Center — Omid memorial

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

Listed in

• Killed in the November 2019 protests
• Killed during protests
• Children and teenagers killed
• Women killed
• The year 1398 (2019–2020)
• Aban 1398
• Tehran Province
• Tehran

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