Seven-Year-Old ‘Zolfaqar’ Latest Victim of Devaluation of Human Life Under Wilayat System

“Zolfaqar Sharifi” is the latest victim of indiscriminate gunfire by law enforcement forces. This killing of a child once again demonstrated that human life, particularly that of children, holds no value for the ruling system.

Once again, the blood of an innocent child has stained the hands of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces. According to a report by human rights organization “Karon,” seven-year-old Zolfaqar Sharifi lost his life as a result of direct gunfire by the Islamic Republic’s law enforcement forces targeting the family’s vehicle in Hovizeh county, and his sister has also been severely wounded.

This incident occurred on the evening of Friday, October 25, when the Sharifi family’s vehicle was passing through a newly established law enforcement checkpoint, and officers suddenly opened fire at the vehicle without any warning or stop order.

Karon organization stated that the bullets directly struck the child’s body, causing his immediate death. According to local sources, security forces surrounded the area after the shooting and warned the victim’s family not to speak with media outlets.

Deadly assaults by the Islamic Republic’s armed forces against citizens in Iran have become a repetitive pattern. In recent years, dozens of citizens, including children, have been killed in direct gunfire by officers targeting vehicles or homes, without any formal response or prosecution ever following.

In the most recent examples, on October 26, following gunfire by Basij forces at a citizen in Isfahan province, the person was severely wounded and transferred to hospital with heavy bleeding. Last month also, in “Deh-Sheikh” village in Fars province, 37-year-old citizen “Abbas (Ibrahim) Maleki” was killed by direct gunfire from armed forces.

Social analyst “Asiyeh Amini,” in response to these acts of violence, stated: “The Islamic Republic views its people as enemies and shoots indiscriminately at citizens.”

Zolfaqar Sharifi is merely one of dozens of children who have become victims of gunfire by government forces. In the blacklist published by human rights organizations, names such as Kian Pir-Fallak (10 years old), Youssef Shahlibar (5 years old), Raha Sheikhee (3 years old), Mozgan Palangi (8 years old), Sedra Naroei (5 years old), Amir Ali Mousavi-Kazemi (2 years old), and several other children stand out.

Each of these children has a separate story but a similar ending: “A bullet, denial, and government silence.”

Based on data released by human rights institution Hrana, in 2024 at least 484 citizens were targeted by gunfire from the Islamic Republic’s military forces, of whom 163 lost their lives and over 320 were wounded.

In 2023, 402 citizens were targeted by gunfire, and in 2022, more than 845 citizens were targeted; statistics that demonstrate that government violence is increasing, not decreasing.

Khuzestan province, where Zolfaqar lived, is one of Iran’s deprived and tense regions that has witnessed increased suppression, widespread arrests, and violence against Arab citizens in recent years. Local activists say that law enforcement’s treatment of people in these areas is violent and humiliating, with no formal accountability from government institutions.

International observers believe that the devaluation of human life in the Islamic Republic’s system, particularly children’s lives, is rooted in the power structure’s ideological foundation; a structure that has defined security not for people, but for the ruling system.

The tragic death of Zolfaqar Sharifi once again demonstrated that children in the Islamic Republic are not safe. From school to the streets, from home to vehicles, nowhere is safe. In a country whose government has repeatedly shown through child killing and bloody suppression of people that human lives hold no value, justice and humanity have been relegated to a distant margin.