Iran’s Sarina Esmaeilzadeh, 16 years, last song before being killed broke hearts before she was beaten to death by Iranian security forces.
Omid Memarian Journalist and Analyst from the USA wrote, “Listen to Sarina Esmaeilzadeh, 16-year-old, full of life and hope. She was killed on Sep 23 in Karaj as a result of baton blows, like many other young protesters who lost their lives for speaking their minds. These voices will not be silenced.”
Listen to #SarinaEsmaeilzadeh, 16-year-old, full of life & hope. She was killed on Sep 23 in Karaj as a result of baton blows, like many other young protesters who lost their lives for speaking their minds. These voices will not be silenced.#MahsaAmini #مهسا_امینی #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/HCSH5X8EWL
— Omid Memarian (@Omid_M) October 6, 2022
There was rage and grief outpouring for the death of Sarina because the video of her singing so gustily did grip hearts.
Comments poured out such as “A young vibrant life cut short by a repressive regime.”
Someone else cried, “Only 16… so beautiful, full of life. She could have been my daughter 😭😭 who is going to bring justice for these kids?”
We are not sure if this is true, but someone else commented, “Sadly 😓
And today his mother committed suicide!”
Someone else commented, “This video drives tears in your eyes…why did u have to murder this innocent girl ???”
A furious person said, “Killing this 16-year-old child, because she had more intelligence, knowledge, and understanding of life than all the members of the Islamic Republic, understanding is dangerous for this, knowledge is dangerous for this, damn your Islamic Republic.”
Beaten to death by security forces in Iran, her death is shaking people perhaps for the simple things she did and wrote in her very lively energetic way. Three days before she died, she wrote on social media, “Is it possible?” The next day she wrote, “My country feels strange.” She took part in a nationwide protest after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s ‘morality’ police. She died of her wounds on September 16th. Sarina Esmaeilzadeh was beaten to death on September 23, 2022, in Karaj.
Sarina was an exceptionally brave girl as many out there and over 185 people have been killed by authorities in the protests sweeping across Iran.
How Did the Protests Start
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the non-profit human rights organization Iran Human Rights conveyed to Andrew Castle at least 185 people have been killed by authorities in the protests sweeping across Iran.
Mr Amiry-Moghaddam’s findings come from research undertaken by Iran Human Rights.
The protests began on September 16, when furious crowds gathered to demand justice for the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s ‘morality’ police.
Mahsa Amini was arrested on September 13 in Iran’s capital, Tehran, for supposedly wearing a ‘bad’ hijab. Under the Islamic Republic of Iran, headscarves are mandatory and all women by law must cover their hair when outside of their homes. Miss Amini was taken away from her brother, who was told that she’d be taken to a detention center for a short ‘education lesson’. She died after that.
The nationwide protests have since grown into a demand for fundamental human rights, women’s freedoms, and an end to the corrupt theocratic regime that has kept hold of Iran for 43 years.
“At least 185 people have been killed by the authorities [in this series of protests],” said Mr Amiry-Moghaddam. “And they are still coming out onto the streets”.
In an exchange with Andrew Castle, Mr Amiry-Moghaddam said: “What we are seeing is a revolution of dignity done by women, we had Rosa Parks, now we have Iranian girls giving their lives to get fundamental rights and the world is watching as it is happening”.
While the regime’s authorities have applied brutality to stop peaceful protests, restricted internet access, and spread disinformation, the protest movement has prevailed.
This has not been without further tragedy, as two 16-year-old’s Sarina Esmailzadeh and Nika Shakarami who joined the protests against the government were killed by authorities.
Iranian authorities quickly declared that Nika died by falling from a building, after potentially being pushed by workmen. It has been widely circulated that it took her family many days to learn about her fate and receive her body.
The statement made by the Iranian authorities has been unanimously discredited, with Nika’s own mother expressing that her body appeared largely unhurt expect for the presence of a large skull fracture at the back of the head.
Due to dread and pressure from the government to support its claims, members of Nika’s family were muffled from revealing the truth about her death.
Yesterday, in a breakthrough, Nika’s mother Nazrin sent a video to the US-funded media company, Radio Farda, which denounces the regime’s claims and detail Nika’s skull fracture.
“This is not just a mother talking under normal circumstances,” said Mr Amiry Moghaddam. “She is risking her life by telling the truth as the authorities try to cover it up”. He said that Nika’s family members have been threatened and that some of them have been forced to come on television and ‘confess’ that their daughter had committed suicide.
Mr Amiry-Moghaddam went on to paint a picture of the general mood in Iran, and outlined the universal appeal of the protest movement.
“We are talking about the young, the old, and all parts of society coming onto the streets empty-handed, asking for their fundamental rights and they are largely protesting in a very civilized way,” he said.
“On the other side we have the armed security forces, you can compare them to ISIS, they have that kind of ideology, they have been shooting at the people, and Nika and Sarina had been beaten in the head by batons”.
Andrew went on to ask Mr Aminy-Moghaddam what he thinks Western governments and populations should do to support the Iranian people in their demand for fundamental rights.
“Ordinary people have enormous power in democratic countries,” said Mr Amiry-Moghaddam.
He then asked the British public to give clear support for the Iranian people and called on the United Nations to establish a mechanism that investigates and holds those responsible for these brutalities accountable.
Mr Amiry-Moghaddam noted that this is achievable, having been implemented in the context of Syria, but warned that it requires pressure from the public.