Pouya Bakhtiari
Pouya Bakhtiari (Persian: پویا بختیاری) was an Iranian protester who was shot and killed on 16 November 2019 in Karaj during the 2019 Iranian protests.[1][2] His death and his parents' reaction garnered nationwide attention.[1][3][4]
Pouya Bakhtiari | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 September 1992 Tehran, Iran |
| Died | 16 November 2019 (aged 27) |
| Cause of death | Shooting |
| Nationality | Iranian |
| Known for | Death during the 2019 Iranian protests |
Life
Pouya Bakhtiari was born on 10 September 1992 in Tehran, Iran.[5] He received his degree in electrical engineering and operated his family's workshop. Bakhtiari was interested in Iranian history and poetry, and wanted to eventually immigrate to Canada.[6][2]
Death
Manuchehr Bakhtiari, Pouya's father, who served for five years in the Iran–Iraq War announced that his son had died on 16 November 2019 in Mehrshahr due to a gunshot wound to the skull. According to him, Pouya was accompanied by his mother on the second day of the 2019 Iranian protests in Mehrshahr and was pronounced dead before he reached the hospital. Pouya's mother stated that "For a moment I saw that people were carrying the body of a protester, and I realized it was my son".[2][5]
In an interview with Masih Alinejad, Manuchehr Bakthiari stated that "They killed my son, they might as well execute me. My son was interested in poetry and literature, not hooliganism. People are tired of the officials [of this country] who steal and are corrupt, and it is for this reason that they call people like my son hooligans while they are the real hooligans".
Pouya Bakhtiari's body was buried on 19 November 2019 in Behesht-e Sakineh Cemetery in Karaj.[2]
Government arrested his family while they wanted to hold a public memorial service on 26 December 2019.[7]
Video
On the day of his death, Pouya Bakhtiari recorded a series of videos on his phone from protests during the day and continuing in to the night which were widely circulated after his death. In these videos, before his death, Bakhtiari documents the protests of 16 November in Karaj.[8]
After the original release of the video by BBC Persian, the entire video was released by Masih Alinejad, which made apparent that the BBC had censored part of the original video. In the censored part of the video, Bakhtiari says "Bravo to everyone! People don't lose this opportunity to once and for all destroy this criminal and corrupt regime which has pillaged our beloved Iran for 40 years."
See also
- 2019 Iranian protests
References
- "Killed In Karaj: Peace-Loving, Vegetarian Engineer A Face For Those Slain In Iranian Protests". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Archived from the original on 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
- "پنج سال در جبههها جنگیدم، در جواب مغز پسرم را هدف گرفتند" [I fought for five years in the war, but they killed my son]. RFE/RL (in Persian). Archived from the original on 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
- "Iranian Parents Jailed For Mourning Man Killed In Anti-Government Protest". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 2020-02-24. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- "An Iranian couple wanted to mourn son killed in protests. Now they are in jail". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2019-12-27. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- "اعتراضهای ایران؛ گفتگو با پدر یکی از کشتهشدگان" [Pouya Bakhtiari's Father Interview]. BBC Persian (in Persian). 2019-11-26. Archived from the original on 2019-11-29. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
- Avenue (2020-02-25). "Iran: No Justice for Bloody Crackdown". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
- "Fearing Fresh Protests Iran Arrests Outspoken Family Of Slain Protester". RFE/RL. Archived from the original on 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
- "ویدیوهای پویا بختیاری از اعتراضات در روز ۲۵ آبان در کرج قبل از اینکه در همان شب با گلوله ماموران کشته شود" [Videos of Pouya Bakhtiari before He Was Shot]. BBC Persian (in Persian). 2019-11-27. Archived from the original on 2019-11-30. Retrieved 2019-12-17.