Iranian forces fired from police station and mosque in Najafabad, witness says

Two teenage girls, aged 15 and 17, who were arrested during protests on January 8, were raped by on duty soldiers at a detention facility, according to the sources.

Following their arrest at the site of the gathering, their families were denied any information regarding their whereabouts or their physical and mental state for nearly three weeks.

Sources close to the victims said the harm inflicted during their disappearance was not limited to physical violence.

In a separate account, sources detailed the experience of a young woman and another 17-year-old teenager.

According to the sources, the two were held in an informal detention center which they both described as belonging to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

Sources said the victims were raped by individuals at the site during their detention.

According to sources, the severity of the trauma has led some of these victims to attempt suicide.

The sources said Alijanvand was shot by security forces with two live rounds, one striking his lower back and another his abdomen. His family spent five days searching hospitals, police stations and prisons across Isfahan province before identifying his body in the cold storage at Bagh-e Rezvan cemetery on January 13, the sources said.

According to the sources, Alijanvand's body was transferred later that night, on January 13, to Shahin Shahr's morgue.

Authorities initially refused to hand over the body and sought to have Alijanvand declared a “martyr,” a condition the family rejected, which would have required them to accept the state’s official account of the death rather than acknowledge that he was killed by state security forces.

Alijanvand was eventually buried under heavy security at around 4 a.m. on January 15, in a tightly controlled ceremony at Behesht-e Zahra Chaharbisheh cemetery in his hometown of Masjed Soleyman in southwestern Iran, with only five family members present and several plainclothes agents in attendance, the sources said.

Alijanvand was married and worked as a forklift driver at a brick factory, according to the people familiar with the matter.

“Reza worked from morning until night. He was deeply patriotic and hopeful for Iran’s freedom,” the source said, adding that Alijanvand believed Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi would return to the country.

Last month, Iran International reported that more than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces during the January 8-9 crackdown on nationwide protests, making it the deadliest two-day protest massacre in history.

Eyewitnesses from protests in the city of Dezful said security forces carried out widespread repression on January 8 and 9, firing directly at protesters’ heads and faces.

Local accounts described the clashes escalating into open street war, with anyone seen outside coming under fire.

Security forces, according to residents, used motorcycles to surround demonstrators and fired pellet guns, wounding large numbers of people.

Witnesses also reported the use of finishing shots and simultaneous aerial and direct gunfire to spread fear. One resident present in the city estimated the death toll at around 400, with thousands detained.

Images and messages received by Iran International indicate that protesters in Karaj were killed by sniper fire during demonstrations, followed by the nighttime burial of victims, including a 16-year-old boy identified as Reza.

According to witness accounts on January 8 and at around 9:00 at night, Reza was shot dead in an alley in the Shahin Villa neighborhood. Witnesses said the shot was fired by a sniper positioned on the rooftop of a fruit shop.

Witnesses said Reza was moved after being shot into a nearby home’s parking area, where he died. After the situation calmed, his body was taken to a local clinic.

The following day, people close to the family were told that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces had buried the teenager’s body overnight and informed the family of the grave’s location.

According to residents, armed forces were deployed at Shahin Villa’s Eighth and Ninth bases and prevented people from approaching by firing live ammunition. Witnesses said at least six people were killed by gunfire on Shahin Villa Street alone, adding that the shooting appeared targeted, particularly against younger protesters.

A witness to protests in Fardis, Alborz province, said the “main killing” occurred on Friday, January 9, when security forces intensified their crackdown and opened fire with live ammunition on protesters after initially allowing the gathering to proceed.

The witness told Iran International that on January 8, the first day of protests, security forces were caught off guard by the size of the crowd and that the number of fatalities that night was limited.

According to the witness, the situation escalated sharply the following day when Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces and special police units, after permitting the protest to take place, opened fire from multiple directions using military-grade weapons.

“In some areas of Fardis there was widespread gunfire, and a large number of people were killed on Ahari Street,” the witness said.

The witness also reported seeing direct shootings, including what they described as execution-style “final shots” fired at elderly protesters.

According to the account, in several cases families of those killed by direct fire were later forced to sign commitments identifying the victims as members of the Basij militia. The witness said this was done because families were unable to afford the high costs demanded for the release of the bodies.