West Azerbaijan Province

This page keeps the memory of the Javid-Nam (“everlasting names”), those who lost their lives, from the province of West Azerbaijan, and the names of those from this province who are still facing execution. This list contains 871 names, from 31 Farvardin 1388 to 11 Mehr 1405. Urmia with 647 names has the largest share; it is followed by Mahabad with 60, Bukan with 51, Salmas with 34, Miandoab with 21, Piranshahr with 16, Khoy with 12, Oshnavieh with 11, Maku with 10 and Naqadeh with 7 names.

Fates and years

Most of the names from West Azerbaijan, 669 people, were executed. 73 people were killed in protests, 37 people lost their lives in detention, 27 people were killed by government forces outside of protests, 4 people lost their lives in suspicious circumstances and 1 person after being released from detention. 36 people are at risk of the execution of a death sentence, 17 people have been sentenced to death and the death sentence of 7 people has been upheld.

Two years in this province are heavier than all others: 1401 with 114 names and 1395 with 102 names. The years 1393 with 80 and 1394 with 66 names are also heavy. The day 30 Shahrivar 1401 with 11 names is the heaviest day of this province, followed by 6 Mordad 1395 with 10 names, and 1 Bahman 1393, 26 Aban 1401 and 27 Aban 1401 have 9 names each. The median age is 30 years and the oldest person was 83 years old. 15 people were under 18 years of age, and there are 82 women in this list.

Autumn 1401 in Mahabad and Bukan

Fereshteh Ahmadi, 32 years old, owned a photography and photocopy shop in Mahabad and was the mother of two children aged three and eight. She had a master's degree in computer science, and the source says “Ms. Ahmadi had memorised the entire Quran.” On 5 Aban 1401, which was her 32nd birthday, she was killed by a sniper's bullet on Mohammad Mowlan Street in Mahabad. Ribaz Salehivand, 21 years old, was a master steel fixer and had learned tattooing from his friends. This sentence of his remains: “Whatever happens to me for the homeland does not matter; if we do not go, who will go to the demonstrations? It is my responsibility and duty to take part.” He was shot dead on 1 Azar 1401 near Mahabad.

Shahriar Mohammadi, 28 years old, had studied architecture at the Islamic Azad University of Bukan but left his studies because of his family's poverty and worked with his car. On 27 Aban 1401 in Bukan, after being chased by three vehicles, he was killed by a burst of gunfire in a dead-end alley. This sentence of his has been quoted: “We are Iranian and we will remain Iranian, and hail to the honour of the whole country of Iran!”

Executions

Mansour Arvand, 39 years old, a well-known sports champion of Mahabad and father of two children, had founded the “Javanmardan” bodybuilding club and, according to the source, had enrolled many young people there free of charge so that they would not be drawn into addiction. His brother said that he “was proud of being Kurdish and always wore Kurdish clothes.” He was secretly executed in Khordad 1394 in Miandoab Prison, and his body was never given to the family. Rahim Mohammadpour, 36 years old, from Mahabad, a farmer who carried passengers in his car, brought books for prisoners and wrote petitions in prison; he was executed on 17 Aban 1395. Zeinab Sekaanvand Lokran was executed at the age of 24, on 10 Mehr 1397, in Urmia Prison; her child had earlier been stillborn in prison.

About this list

The list of the Javid-Nam in West Azerbaijan is not complete. The real number of victims from Urmia, Mahabad, Bukan and the other cities of this province is higher; we record only a name for which we have found a source. The largest share of these 871 names comes from the Kurdistan Human Rights Network with 573 cases and the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center with 509 cases; followed by the Iran Human Rights Society with 189 and the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (English-language) with 175 cases. Every name from this province has at least one source, but some have only one source. For 78 people a description of their life is available. If you knew someone in this list from Urmia, Mahabad, Bukan or the other cities of this province, send us your memory or correction.