Iran protests: Victim's family recounts fatal shooting

Accessing reliable information from inside Iran is still difficult after the regime shut down internet access and blocked international calls amid the largest uprising against its rule seen in decades. 

In recent days, some Iranians abroad have managed to contact relatives in Iran as limited communications access was restored. DW spoke with one of them who lives in Cologne, Germany.

Mohammad Saleh Zarif Moghadam left his home in the capital, Tehran, on the evening of January 8 and headed toward one of the anti-regime protests that had been popping up in cities across Iran.

According to his aunt, Farzaneh, the 28-year-old had also taken part in demonstrations in 2022 following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who died in police custody after Iran's notorious morality police accused her of violating the country's strict dress code.  

This time, however, Saleh would not return.  

"He lost his life for freedom," Farzaneh told DW.

Protesters killed by live ammunition

The protests began in late December in Tehran's Grand Bazaar over economic grievances but quickly became political and spread nationwide.

The nights of January 8 and 9 were the deadliest, according to state officials, foreign-based NGOs and eyewitness accounts.

"In the Narmak neighborhood, they [security forces] shot and killed at least five or six people in front of us," according to an eyewitness from Tehran's Narmark neighborhood cited by Amnesty International. 

"They have stopped using metal pellets and are shooting with live ammunition."

As security forces moved to crush the unrest, the government throttled internet access, making it nearly impossible for many families to learn what had happened to their loved ones.

Farzaneh only learned about her nephew's death after limited communications were restored late last week.

"Since the protests began, he had told family members that he would participate in every rally," she said. "He was fed up, just like many other young people in Iran." 

That night, Mohammad Saleh joined a 25-year-old friend and the friend's girlfriend in Tehran's Arya Shahr neighborhood.

There, they were confronted by militants from the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary faction controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who routinely assist the anti-riot forces in cracking down on unrest. 

"Both Mohammad Saleh and his friend were hit by live ammunition," Farzaneh said.

"The first bullet struck him in the side."

His friend was also killed, she said, adding that the girlfriend escaped and later informed both families what had happened.

"According to his friend's girlfriend, Mohammad Saleh was still alive after he fell to the ground," Farzaneh told DW.

"Then they shot him in the head." 

Families pressured for 'bullet money' to retrieve bodies

International media outlets reported multiple instances of Iranian authorities demanding so-called "bullet money" from families of protesters killed by security forces in exchange for the return of their loved ones' bodies.

Other families said they were forced to sign documents stating their deceased relatives were members of the security forces rather than demonstrators in order to retrieve their bodies.

Iranian officials have denied both practices.

However, Farzaneh said her family faced exactly that choice.

She told DW that officials first demanded that Mohammad Saleh's parents sign a statement saying he was a member of the Basij. They refused. Authorities then demanded money for the release of his body, Farzaneh said. 

According to Farzaneh, officers initially asked for 700 million tomans (about $4,950/€4,260) — an enormous sum for most Iranian families.

After four days of negotiations, they agreed to release the body for 200 million tomans (about $1,400/€1,220).

Mohammad Saleh was reportedly buried on Monday in a tightly controlled ceremony at Tehran's main cemetery, Behesht-e Zahra.

Iran protest death toll remains unclear

Saleh's death is one among thousands in a crackdown whose true numbers remain unclear.

Eyewitnesses and human rights groups said government forces fired on protesters in cities across Iran.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on Wednesday that it had so far verified 4,519 deaths, with more than 9,000 additional cases still under investigation.

Those killed included 4,251 demonstrators and 197 security forces, HRANA said. Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based group, has reported more than 3,400 killed.

An Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday that authorities verified at least 5,000 deaths in ⁠the protests.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech on Thursday that "thousands" of people were killed over the last two weeks — an unusual admission from a leader who has typically avoided citing death tolls.

DW cannot independently verify the figures and is not permitted to report freely inside Iran.

Human Rights Watch reviewed evidence that many protesters were killed or injured by gunshot wounds to their heads and torsos.

Mohammad Saleh is survived by his 5-year-old son, Barsam.

"His family still hasn't been able to tell him his father was killed," Farzaneh said.

"How can you tell a 5-year-old child they killed your father with two live rounds?" 

This article was originally published in Farsi.