Security officers on the anniversary of those killed in November 2019: "We killed, we killed, we killed well"

Coinciding with the anniversary of the deaths of hundreds of people in the November 2019 protests in Iran, the families of those killed were deprived of the right to hold ceremonies commemorating the death of their children under security pressure, and only family members and relatives were allowed to attend the graves of their lost loved ones.

In an interview with Radio Farda, the families of those killed in November 2019 say that their presence at the graves of their children was despite security officers, both in plain clothes and military forces, having been preventing people from attending for hours.

Mohammad Shahbazi, the brother of Amine Shahbazi, who died on Sunday, November 16, from a gunshot wound to the neck, said in an interview with Radio Farda that they had been called from unknown numbers and told that "only you can come to the grave, peace be upon you. If there are any more people, we will not allow it and we will deal with them."

Mr. Shahbazi says: "Two or three people came to the scene and warned us and said that only you can be present and there should be no extra people. We were the only ones there and there was no one else."

Sakineh Ahmadi, the mother of Ebrahim Kebatdar, who was shot dead in Mehdiabad, Kianmehr, Karaj, on Saturday, November 15, also said in an interview with Radio Farda that the anniversary ceremony of her son's death was not held due to the presence of security officers at the grave. She also spoke of the security agencies' repeated calls to her family to cancel the anniversary ceremony and to threaten her family members.

The protests of November last year, which were initially a reaction to the sudden increase in gasoline prices, quickly changed direction and targeted the Islamic Republic government. However, these protests were met with severe repression, with hundreds of men, women, and even children killed over five days.

Iran's Interior Minister has said that between 200 and 225 people were killed in these protests, but Amnesty International, announcing the identities of at least 304 of those killed, has emphasized that the death toll may be much higher.

Reuters, however, reported that at least 1,500 people were killed in the November 2019 protests, and quoted "three sources close to Khamenei's inner circle" and a fourth official as saying that the leader of the Islamic Republic had told senior officials in the country to "do whatever is necessary to stop" the protests.

So far, the Islamic Republic's judicial and security authorities have refused to provide official and accurate statistics on the number of people killed in these protests and have not taken responsibility for the deaths of those killed.

They said, "What is a leader to do?"

Amine Shahbazi, a 34-year-old housewife who, according to her brother, was a bus driver to help support the family, was shot dead in Karaj on November 16 while helping an injured protester.

Mohammad Shahbazi told Radio Farda: "We had come from Karbala and my sister and her daughter were suffering from influenza. She had gone to get medicine when her landlord called and asked where she was. He said he was coming. He called again, a man answered and said that someone had been shot in the leg and - I swear - he was covering it with his scarf. The third time he called, he said that this woman had been taken away. We didn't find out until two days later when I saw that she had been shot in the neck."

Mohammad Shahbazi's sister is one of at least 34 victims whose names have been reported in the media in the city of Karaj. Shahbazi's family's complaint to identify and name his killer has been unsuccessful: "We filed a complaint, but they haven't given us any answer yet. Wherever we went, they chased us here and there, and right now we can't go anywhere and our hands are tied to nowhere."

Amine Shahbazi's brother explains: "First we went to court, they said you have to go to the police. We went to the police, they said you have to go to the Mallard General Court. In court, they said wait for the investigation to be completed. Then they said the case has been sent to the security police and you have to wait for their answer. They don't answer, we are really tired and we don't know what to do anymore. I even asked if they said you would declare me a martyr. The judge said whoever said it, said it without thinking. I said it was the leader. The judge said it wasn't up to him to say it! There is a committee of ten to fifteen people that they have to approve, and its approval is not up to you or me. I protested in court and said why are you giving us this answer? My sister was a woman, she wasn't armed or anything. I brought documents that she had gone to get medicine, they said no, all of this is a story and whoever came out at that hour, in our opinion, is a rioter."

Ameneh Shahbazi was the mother of two sons, ages 14 and 12, and a daughter, age 4. Her brother says, “Her daughter is now 5 years old and she is not feeling well. She keeps calling her mother. I don’t know what to say. She is not calm and relaxed. Her sons are not themselves. Her family has completely fallen apart. My mother is the worst. My mother is silent. We ask, ‘Mom, what are you doing? Where are you?’ She says, ‘I am talking to Ameneh in my heart.’ So what should I answer her? What should I say to her? When her daughter tells me, ‘Uncle, you left my mother there, you poured dirt on her, go get her, what should I say to her?’”

Mohammad Shahbazi says: “We listen to the news and I don’t know when they say that someone was in the November uprising and was sentenced to death or that someone was sentenced to 5 years in prison, etc. Why were all of these cases investigated, except for our families? Why didn’t the cases of those who were going to be executed take long, and those who should have been imprisoned were all investigated except us? We are in a dilemma now, we don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to say to his daughter. Whenever she sees him, she says, ‘Uncle, go get mom.’ My mother is not young, I dragged her around so much that she really can’t take it anymore. She comes crying and leaves crying. No one answers. We don’t know what to do. Every time we talk for a moment, they threaten to come and take her away.”

Threats to the families of the victims and pressure to remain silent and not give interviews to the media have continued over the past year.

Amine Shahbazi's brother says: "The first time I went to court, the judge threatened me, asking why I gave an interview. I said I didn't give an interview, I told what happened. I didn't say anything special and I didn't insult anyone. He threatened to hear it again, we'll do this and that. On the other hand, the security police called me several times and threatened that we are watching you if you want to make a move, do something or say something. These are the incidents that have happened in the past year. We didn't intend to fight anyone. We were pursuing my sister's rights, why? A woman who wasn't armed or anything. We even say she went out. Did she go to fight someone? Did she have a weapon? They won't answer. You ask questions, they throw her out and don't answer. They have power and we don't know what to do anymore."

Mohammad Shahbazi explains: "They told me who called? I said everyone called. They said you shouldn't be interviewed. I said we spoke our minds. They said you don't answer them anymore, we'll come back later to appease them, and the authorities want to come to appease them. What appeasement? No one has called us for a year, asked about our well-being, or anything. They shot a woman, and it was so easy, nothing. This person passes it to that person, and that person says, 'Trust in God, it will be okay.' We haven't insulted anyone or said anything, nothing. I even controlled my own brothers, who are young. But finally, they have to give us an answer."

According to her brother, Amine Shahbazi was a housewife, but she also worked as a passenger car driver: "My sister worked as a passenger car driver to make ends meet. Her husband was a motorcycle courier. What was this family looking for? Was it looking to change the regime? When we go there, they talk as if we had committed thousands of crimes. Dad was a normal person, an ordinary citizen."

We fought, we fought, we did a good job.

At the same time in Karaj, Sakineh Ahmadi, the mother of Ebrahim Kebatdar, reported the presence of security forces at her son's grave, telling Radio Farda: "We were unable to hold the ceremony. They did not allow it. We went to the grave ourselves, but officers surrounded us. They said you only have to be here for ten minutes. They did not allow the eulogist to come. They canceled the ceremony altogether and turned our guests away from the front door and did not even allow them to enter."

Ms. Ahmadi says: "They had left the cemetery completely empty and were not allowing anyone to enter. There were many private clothes and a car every ten meters. There were too many of them. They warned me. They took Ibrahim's father and brother and said you have no right to hold the ceremony. Since Saturday, they have been calling my son, my daughter, and all of us constantly and saying you should not hold the ceremony. But I went to my child's grave. Is it possible that he didn't go? They harassed me a lot there. We got into a fight and they said very casually, 'We fought, we fought, we did a good job, we did this.' It burned my liver. There were ten or twenty intelligence officers and military uniforms standing over us. What did we want to do? We just wanted to hold a simple ceremony. But they wanted to play with our nerves and minds."

Ibrahim Kebatdar, a father of two young children, was shot in the heart in front of his workplace while his hand was in his pocket. His death certificate stated, "Bullet to the heart, unrelated to the fight."

The situation was similar in other cities in Iran. Families of the victims told Radio Farda that they had been contacted by the Ministry of Intelligence in the previous days and were told that the ceremony would be held at the graves of their children with only family members present, and that no one else was allowed to attend.

The anniversary of the November massacre has been and will be spent in this way, just as last year, the families of the victims were not allowed to hold mourning ceremonies and the 40th anniversary of their children.

Source: Radio Farda