Sohrab Aarabi
Encyclopedia
Sohrab Aarabi was an Iranian
pro-democracy student whose death became a symbol of protests during 2009 post election unrests
in Iran.
promised that he would release Mr Aarabi. After nearly a month of searching by friends and relatives, it turned out that Sohrab was killed with "a gunshot wound to the heart". Other sources mentioned two bullet wounds – one in the head and one under the heart. The Iranian Judiciary handed the body to the family of the victim.
The exact circumstances in which Aarabi was killed are still uncertain. According to one scenario, he died in prison. Others claim he may have been shot in the streets and died later in a hospital or police camp. During his funeral, his mother screamed out loud that he was stabbed in the heart.
On 14 July, former prime minister Mousavi
and his wife Zahra Rahnavard
visited Sohrab's family and paid tribute to him. Following Mousavi's visit, Mehdi Karroubi
, the Chairman of National Confidence Party and a presidential hopeful in 2009 election, also met Sohrab's family and showed solidarity with his relatives.
Sohrab Aarabi's death generated fear among several dozen families camping outside Evin prison, trying to learn the fate of loved ones who vanished in post-election turmoil. The spokesman for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said there could be "dozens, or even hundreds" of missing people like Aarabi. "They are people who simply went off the radar screen.… There's no confirmation if they are in prison or dead."
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
pro-democracy student whose death became a symbol of protests during 2009 post election unrests
2009 Iranian election protests
Protests following the 2009 Iranian presidential election against the disputed victory of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and in support of opposition candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi occurred in major cities in Iran and around the world starting June 13, 2009...
in Iran.
Family and background
Sohrab was raised in a middle class Iranian family. His mother, Parvin Fahimi, was an active member of Mothers for Peace.Arrest and killing
Sohrab disappeared on June 15 during the 2009 presidential election protests. The case got significant media attention. Prosecutor Saeed MortazaviSaeed Mortazavi
Saeed Murtazavi is a controversial Iranian jurist and former prosecutor of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, and Prosecutor General of Tehran, a position he has held from 2003 to 2009. He has been called as "butcher of the press" and "torturer of Tehran" by some observers...
promised that he would release Mr Aarabi. After nearly a month of searching by friends and relatives, it turned out that Sohrab was killed with "a gunshot wound to the heart". Other sources mentioned two bullet wounds – one in the head and one under the heart. The Iranian Judiciary handed the body to the family of the victim.
The exact circumstances in which Aarabi was killed are still uncertain. According to one scenario, he died in prison. Others claim he may have been shot in the streets and died later in a hospital or police camp. During his funeral, his mother screamed out loud that he was stabbed in the heart.
Funeral and aftermath
Sohrab Aarabi's death was grieved nationwide and influenced the protests similar to the killing of Neda Agha-Soltan. Crowds chanted in defiance of the police as they gathered for the funeral.On 14 July, former prime minister Mousavi
Mir-Hossein Mousavi
Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh is an Iranian reformist politician, artist and architect who served as the seventy-ninth and last Prime Minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was a Reformist candidate for the 2009 presidential election and eventually the leader of the opposition in the post-election...
and his wife Zahra Rahnavard
Zahra Rahnavard
Zahra Rahnavard is an Iranian artist and politician.-Early life:Rahnavard was born in Borujerd, Iran. Her father Haj-Fathali was a Fundamentalist Sh'ia and anti-Communist. After hearing of a gathering of Sh'ia clerics in Iran, Haj-Fathali emigrated to Khomein, Markazi Province where Zahra was born...
visited Sohrab's family and paid tribute to him. Following Mousavi's visit, Mehdi Karroubi
Mehdi Karroubi
Mehdi Karroubi is an influential Iranian reformist politician, democracy activist, mojtahed, and chairman of the National Trust Party. He was Chairman of the parliament from 1989 to 1992 and 2000 to 2004, and a presidential candidate in the 2005 and 2009 presidential elections.He is a founding...
, the Chairman of National Confidence Party and a presidential hopeful in 2009 election, also met Sohrab's family and showed solidarity with his relatives.
Sohrab Aarabi's death generated fear among several dozen families camping outside Evin prison, trying to learn the fate of loved ones who vanished in post-election turmoil. The spokesman for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said there could be "dozens, or even hundreds" of missing people like Aarabi. "They are people who simply went off the radar screen.… There's no confirmation if they are in prison or dead."
See also
- Neda Agha-Soltan
- Zahra KazemiZahra KazemiZahra "Ziba" Kazemi-Ahmadabadi was an Iranian-Canadian freelance photographer, residing in Montreal, Canada, who died in the custody of Iranian officials following her arrest....
- Zahra Bani YaghoubZahra Bani YaghoubZahra Bani Yaghoub was an Iranian medical doctor, who died unexpectedly in a prison in Hamedan, after she was arrested by the Moral Police...
- Mahmoud VahidniaMahmoud VahidniaMahmoud Vahidnia is an Iranian student. He is a second year student in the Department of Mathematics at Sharif University of Technology.Vahidnia got significant media attention for his face to face criticism of Iran's supreme leader on October 28, 2009 during a meeting between Ali Khamenei and...
- Sane JalehSane JalehSane Jaleh also Sanea Jaleh, Saneh Jaleh, or Sani Zhaleh was an Iranian student at the University of Arts. He was one of two students shot dead during the February 14, 2011 demonstrations in support of Egyptians and Tunisians for ousting Presidents Hosni Mubarak and Ben Ali, in Tehran, Iran...
External links
- Young Election Protester Buried in Tehran (New York Times, 2009)
- Slain Iranian teenager becomes symbol of protests (Los Angeles Times, 2009)
- Man's family learns of his death one month after Iran protests (CNN)
- In month's turmoil, Iran death toll still unknown (The Associated Press, 2009)
- IRAN: Tale of Sohrab Arabi Raises Fears About the Missing (IPS, 2009)
- Video of Mirhossein Moosavi, visiting Sohrab Aarabi's family