Victims Accounts: Farzin Poost-Ashkan, 26-Year-Old Protester Shot Dead by a Sniper in Isfahan

A source close to the Poost-Ashkan family told IHRNGO: “On the evening of 8 January, Farzin joined the protests while returning home from work. At around 22:45, on Dr Hesabi Street at the Simin intersection in Isfahan, he was shot by a sniper who was firing at people from a rooftop. A live round struck the back of his head near his ear.”

According to the informed source, Farzin’s older brother was with him and carried his bloodied body to Milad Hospital in a car. “A large number of security agents were present at the hospital, but the medical staff did everything they could to treat Farzin and resuscitate him. However, the resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful and he died.”

The source added that security forces did not even allow Farzin’s mother — who had returned from a trip and rushed directly to the hospital — to see her son’s face and forced the family to leave the hospital.

Farzin’s family searched for six days to locate his body and eventually found him at Bagh-e Rezvan cemetery. Because of this delay, his burial coincided with the seventh day after his killing. The burial ceremony was held at the Fooladshahr cemetery with only a limited number of family members present and under the supervision of plainclothes agents, on the condition that “no slogans” be chanted.

The source close to the family continued: “A day later, the family held another ceremony at his gravesite attended by many people, a ceremony that included mourning dances.”

According to the informed source, Farzin Poost-Ashkan’s family remains under heavy surveillance by security forces. “Farzin’s mother and older brother are in a very poor psychological state. His older brother, who had to carry Farzin’s bloodied body to the hospital in his arms, has developed nervous tics and spends most nights at his brother’s grave until the early hours of the morning.”

One of Farzin’s friends also told IHRNGO about his character: “He was a very kind and humorous young man whom all his friends and customers loved. In the weeks before Nowruz, from mid-March when the number of customers increased, Farzin slept only about three hours a night and worked constantly.”

A source close to the family also said: “Farzin’s friends and relatives knew him as a responsible young man. He was a pillar of support for his younger sister, who has a disability, and had cared for her like a father throughout these years.”

According to the source, Farzin had travelled to Europe before the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, but after two weeks he struggled to return to Isfahan. “When I told him that I wished he had not returned to Iran, he said he came back for his family. He dreamed of one day having his own brand in Iran.”