Yalda Aghafazli

Yalda Aghafazli was a 19-year-old woman who was arrested near Enghelab Street at the same time as the nationwide uprising in response to the murder of Mahsa Amini. She died suspiciously at home a few days after her temporary release.

The murder of Mahsa Amini triggered a country-wide uprising in September 2022 in Iran. The protests were initially sporadical around the country and against the mandatory hijab. But in a few days, dozens of cities in Iran became the scenes of clashes between protesters and security forces. The protesters' main demands were freedom of attire and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. The focus of the protests on women led to international attention. <symbol-timeline></symbol-timeline>

• <coverage-outsourcing id='43639'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2022/hranews/a-37644/'> She was arrested in Tehran and transferred to Gharchak Varamin prison. While announcing this news, HRANA wrote that Yalda Aghafazli has been on hunger strike since her arrest. Sometime later, Iran International wrote that she was arrested near Enghelab Street. Her arrest took place at the same time as nationwide protests in Iran in response to the murder of Mahsa Amini - a 22-year-old girl from Saqqez who was beaten to death by morality patrol officers. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='43641'> <reference source='https://t.me/bidarzani/11785'> She was released after refusing to accept her charges. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='43646'> <reference source='https://www.iranintl.com/202211126154'> According to Iran International, she died at home. Some media and social network users claimed the cause of the death of Mrs. Aghafazli was suicide. According to the audio file attributed to Yalda's last conversation with her friend, which was widely shared on social networks, she referred to her severe assault by the security agents during her arrest and in the detention center. Also, in another audio file attributed to her, she expressed her happiness that the interrogator wrote "the accused did not express remorse" on the sheet. Yalda Aghafazli is not the first person to be arrested in the nationwide uprising in response to the murder of Mahsa Amini, who committed suicide shortly after her release. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='43651'> <reference source='https://www.iranintl.com/202211126154'> According to Iran International, her funeral was held under strict security measures in Behesht Zahra. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='43648'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/1500tasvir/status/1592209533342040065?s=20&t=Vay7VHygMkg9X3FgXcmYJg'> The Twitter account "1,500 Images" published videos from the memorial service of Yalda Aghafazli. According to Voice of America, the attendees were attacked with tear gas and sound bombs at this memorial service. Also, a video of the night protests in Saadat Abad, Tehran (where Yalda's funeral ceremony was held) was released, which, according to Vahid Online, took place after Yalda Aghafazli's mourning ceremony. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='43647'> <reference source='https://bit.ly/3gB1zWJ'> Mizan, the Judiciary News Agency wrote that the family of Yalda Aghafazli called the police station and the emergency room at around three in the morning on November 11th after her "death" and "the body of the deceased was transferred to the forensic pathologist to investigate the cause of death". According to this report, "according to the announcement of the medical examiner, no bruises, beatings, or fractures were found on the body of the deceased." Also, Mizan, quoting Judge Mohammad Shahriari, Head of the Criminal Prosecutor's Office of Tehran province, announced: > The judicial investigation and the forensic report show that there is no suicide hypothesis regarding the death of Yalda Aghafazli, and that this person died due to excessive drug use. She died from the type of meth. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='56942'> <reference source='https://www.iranintl.com/202305254667'> In a letter, Vida Rabbani reported on the torture of detainees in Gharchak prison to obtain "forced confession" and "forced repentance" and said that Yalda Aghafazli was also "killed" by the government with the same method. According to the report of Iran International, she mentioned the "shock and cries" of the girls of the 8th Ward and the unsuccessful suicide of a detainee after the death of Yalda Aghafazli. In this letter, she emphasized that "neural diseases like mine are the result of arrests and tortures" and said: > Are you trying to say that someone that you imprisoned is completely crazy? Referring to the death of Yalda Aghafazli, a 19-year-old detained protester who died suspiciously five days after her release from Gharchak Varamin prison, she said: > That shock and cries of girls of Ward Eight after her death and the unsuccessful suicide of another detainee after hearing the news of Yalda's death is unforgettable. This journalist emphasized: > You killed Yalda, Yalda would be alive today if she had not been arrested, but does it matter to you?" No! People's lives are cheap to you. The letter continues: > You kept me in Detention Center 209 for 40 days, while I was interrogated for less than a total of three hours, and you refused to transfer me to the general ward until I went on a hunger strike." According to this report, Ms. Rabbani called the behavior of the interrogators and prison officers a sign of their "mental disorder" and said that they, like many other "psychotic" patients, do not understand their "dangerousness . </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>