Alireza Seidi, a 16-year-old Kurdish teenager, a student at a school for gifted children (Sampad), and the only son in his family, was critically injured on the evening of January 8, 2026, in front of the Qods City (Qal'eh Hasan Khan) Governorate by a direct live bullet fired by suppressive forces. He died en route to the hospital due to severe internal bleeding, as the "Qasem Soleimani" Hospital had turned into a secondary killing ground for the wounded, making it impossible to transfer him there.

On January 9, after visiting Noor Shahriar Hospital and learning that bodies were being transferred, his family headed to the Kahrizak facility. After two days of searching through sheds overflowing with corpses, they retrieved his body. Despite security forces firing shots, his burial and 40th-day memorial service in Abdanan transformed into widespread anti-government protests, marked by an intentional refusal to recite the traditional funeral prayer (Namaz-e Meyyit) and a symbolic hair-cutting act by his sister. Security institutions pressured the family to declare him a "state martyr," but they firmly refused. Before leaving for the protests, Alireza had responded to his sister: "Tell my nieces and nephews that their uncle was two meters tall, handsome, and stylish, and he went so that you could have a good life." Regarding the cost of change, he had remarked: "A revolution costs something; if we don't pay the cost, how is change ever going to happen?"

This narrative is compiled based on interviews with several informed sources and eyewitnesses. The identities of these sources and the documentation obtained by Kurdpa have been kept confidential to protect them while serving to document and prove the egregious human rights violations and the killing of minors during the brutal and unbridled crackdown of January 2026 by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

1. The Details of Alireza Seidi’s State Killing

From Direct Firing of Live Ammunition to Nearby Hospitals Turning into Secondary Killing Grounds

An informed source details the shooting by suppressive forces at Alireza and the circumstances of his injury and death: Alireza was targeted from an elevated angle directly in front of the Qods City Governorate. A live bullet entered his body approximately 5 cm above his navel and, after passing through internal organs, exited diagonally near the base of his spine. Despite being hit, he managed to move a short distance away from the firing site. Moments later, two motorcyclists picked him up, moved him away from the governorate, and brought him to a nearby home, telling a woman inside: "Ma'am, take care of this young man; he has severe bleeding, a fever, and violent chills." Inside the house, due to his intense shivering, they covered him with blankets. Before losing consciousness, Alireza provided his father’s phone number.

After contacting his father, who was working in Khorramshahr at the time, the father immediately called his daughter—a nursing student—and gave her the address. Relatives initially assumed he had been struck by birdshot and were unaware that a live round had penetrated his body and exited his back.

According to an eyewitness who was closely accompanying Alireza:

"His father called his daughter and said, 'I'm going to tell you something, don't panic, and don't tell Mom yet: Alireza was hit by birdshot and made it to a woman's house. She called for someone to get him. I asked another relative to take him to their house; go there and perform first aid.' As his sister and relatives were rushing over, they spotted Alireza in the backseat of a car along the way. He was groaning in pain, asking his sister for painkillers, so she went to get fluids and medication.

I will never forget that scene: the entire path from the elevator to the apartment door was smeared with blood. We laid down a mat, and Alireza was shivering violently under blankets. It was nearly impossible to establish an IV because his blood pressure had dropped so low that his veins collapsed. We managed to get a line in with extreme difficulty and administered a painkiller, but it had no effect. We gave a second dose. The mat underneath was soaking through with blood. When we turned Alireza onto his side, we saw massive bleeding from his back. Looking at his abdomen, about 5 cm above his navel, there was a small hole—about 5 or 6 millimeters—that looked like a superficial wound. Nobody there realized it was an entry wound from a live bullet; everyone thought it was birdshot. He wasn't bleeding much from the front, but heavily from the back.

Panic broke out in the house over what to do. We called 'Qasem Soleimani' Hospital in Qods City, but people warned us it was a second slaughterhouse—that security agents had overrun it, and patients without life-threatening injuries, like those shot in the arm or leg, were being thrown alive into cold storage rooms to die, or injected with lethal substances, or loaded into vans heading to unknown destinations. We were terrified that if we took Alireza there, the same fate would await him. The hospital was a death trap, but staying at home meant he would bleed out.

Desperately, a relative went to a local clinic to check if agents were present before bringing him. We carefully moved Alireza into the car. En route, I noticed his face taking on the appearance of someone who had passed away. At the clinic, as soon as staff saw him, they said he needed emergency surgery immediately and warned us again: 'Do not take him to Qasem Soleimani Hospital—they will kill him. Take him to a private facility like Treta Hemmat or Noor Shahriar Hospital.' We loaded him back into the car to head toward one of those private hospitals. I saw fluid coming from his mouth as he exhibited neurological reflexes, indicating brain death. We drove toward Noor Shahriar Hospital, but before reaching it, due to heavy traffic, distance, and congestion, Alireza passed away in the car while his head rested on a relative's shoulder."

Upon reaching Noor Shahriar Hospital, Alireza’s body was transferred to the hospital morgue. He was among the first fatalities recorded at that facility. According to the eyewitness, Alireza fought for his life for several hours due to his strong physical constitution, but he had lost vast amounts of blood and succumbed to massive internal and external hemorrhaging.

In the official burial permit issued by the General Directorate of Forensic Medicine of Tehran Province, the cause of death is recorded as: "Impact of high-velocity projectile objects to the body."

2. Locating Alireza’s Body Among Hundreds of January Victims in Kahrizak

From Sheds Filled with Corpses to Long Lines of Families Waiting to Retrieve Their Loved Ones

According to an informed source:

"On January 9, 2026, the family went to Noor Shahriar Hospital to collect Alireza's body. The hospital was packed with citizens seeking their relatives' remains. However, hospital staff informed them that no bodies were kept there and that all remains had been transferred to Kahrizak.

When the family arrived at Kahrizak, they were initially unaware of the full scale of the tragedy. Although body bags were visible, they did not realize the storage sheds were overflowing with corpses. They were met with horrifying scenes—relatives were searching through countless body bags across multiple sheds, crying out for their children. The sheds were lined with body bags. Families walked through, looking at monitors displaying photographs of the deceased tagged with registration codes.

The family searched until late afternoon before learning that specific ambulances had brought bodies from Noor Hospital. Alireza had a distinct physical mark: two of his toes were partially joined together. His foot was protruding from a body bag, enabling his family to identify him.

The body of Alireza (Zanyar) Seidi was identified inside a body bag marked with registration code 12018. They were instructed to return to Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery on the morning of January 10 to complete administrative paperwork, obtain a burial permit, and retrieve the body, being told officials would transport the body to Behesht-e Zahra. The family waited for hours at Behesht-e Zahra, but after the body failed to arrive, they returned to Kahrizak. There, long queues of families were waiting in line as remains were processed for release. Alireza was still in the same spot as the day before, and after significant effort, the family managed to take possession of his body.

According to the source, the Seidi family was fortunate in that they were not forced to pay for the bullet or other fees, as it was early in the process. Later, after videos of Kahrizak leaked and brought public exposure, severe pressure and harsh measures were imposed on families seeking bodies—ranging from extortionate monetary demands to arrests and detentions."

Ultimately, after receiving their son's remains, the family transported him to his hometown of Abdanan for burial.

3. Burial Ceremony in His Hometown

Widespread Public Attendance, Anti-Government Chants, and Refusal to Recite Funeral Prayers Amid Security Presence and Gunfire

Alireza’s burial ceremony took place on Sunday, January 11, 2026, in Abdanan, attended by large crowds shouting anti-government slogans. According to reliable sources, attendees honored the memory of the fallen youth by chanting slogans such as "Death to Khamenei," "Death to the IRGC," "This year is the year of blood, Seyyed Ali will be overthrown," and "I will kill whoever killed my brother."

In video footage provided to Kurdpa alongside this report, his mother can be seen mourning with cries of "Rolo, Rolo" (a traditional Kurdish lamentation for a child), pulling her hair, and performing a mourning ritual, alongside women clapping and engaging in mourning dances as crowds chanted "Death to Khamenei."

Subsequent video evidence shows suppressive forces targeting attendees with live gunfire during the burial service. Additional imagery documents participants explicitly refusing to conduct the traditional Namaz-e Meyyit (funeral prayer) as an act of protest against the state-sanctioned killing, all while security forces deployed live fire nearby.

4. The 40th-Day Memorial Service

Mass Demonstrations, Protest Slogans, Gunfire Directed at Mourners, and a Sister’s Symbolic Hair-Cutting

On February 16, 2026, ahead of the 40th-day memorial (Chehellom) for Alireza Seidi, video footage showed residents of Abdanan taking to the streets, chanting "Death to Khamenei" despite a heavy security presence, internet blackouts, and disrupted communications.

On February 17, 2026, coinciding with the 40th day after Alireza's death, heavy security personnel, military vehicles, and motorized units were deployed to Abdanan. Despite the intimidation, large crowds gathered for the memorial service, chanting anti-government slogans. Suppressive forces stationed around the cemetery opened fire to disperse the mourners.

Photographic and video documentation shows a security officer atop an armored vehicle firing directly at the crowd. Drones were filmed hovering overhead to intimidate citizens, while security forces patrolled surrounding streets.

The city of Abdanan was placed under a virtual state of siege, with dozens of heavy military and security vehicles organized to prevent gatherings. During the service, Alireza’s sister cut her braided hair in a symbolic Kurdish act of mourning and resistance.

5. Rejection of State Demands to Label Alireza a "Government Martyr"

The Family Refuses to Betray the Blood of Their Son and Other Victims

Reliable sources state that following the burial, state institutions repeatedly pressured the family to classify Alireza as a "state martyr." The family firmly rejected each approach, declaring they would never betray Alireza’s memory or the blood of other fallen protesters.

Initially, officials contacted the family urging them to accept his registration as a "Basij member" and "Martyr of the Islamic Republic." The family refused, emphasizing that Alireza did not support the regime and that they would not compromise his legacy. Later, representatives from the judiciary contacted them asking how he was killed; the family explicitly responded that he was shot dead with live ammunition fired directly by IRGC and Basij forces near the Qal'eh Hasan Khan Governorate. Subsequent attempts by state-affiliated organizations (including a group calling itself the "Imam Reza Group") to organize official memorial services at their home were turned away by the family.

About Alireza Seidi

Alireza Seidi was 16 years old, born on April 18, 2009. He was the son of Fathollah and Parvin, belonging to the Naser-Ali clan, and was known among friends and family by his Kurdish name, Zanyar. He was born in Khorramshahr, where his father worked, and was the only son in the family alongside two sisters.

He was a student at a gifted students' school (Sampad) and had prepared study schedules for January 8 and 9 to review physics videos and practice tests.

6. The Last Day of Alireza’s Life as Told by a Relative

"A Revolution Costs Something; If We Don't Pay the Cost, How Is Change Ever Going to Happen?"

On the morning of January 8, his sister asked him to buy bread for breakfast. Later in the afternoon, Alireza came out of his room and informed his sister that he intended to join the protests. He had tried to attend previous demonstrations but had been held back. His sister asked what she should tell her children about who he was if something happened to him. He replied: "Tell my nieces and nephews that their uncle was two meters tall, handsome, and stylish, and he went so that you could have a good life." His sister embraced him—marking the last time she held her brother alive.

Between 6:00 PM and 6:30 PM, the family noticed he was not at home. He had placed his phone on airplane mode. He had told his mother, who was traveling, that he was going to Reza Market to buy hair mask products—a route requiring passage through the governorate and Qods Square, the central assembly point that night.

He returned home briefly with the hair mask, which he and his sister applied to his hair. (The product was used only once; a imprint of Alireza's finger remains in the gel container).

Later, he accompanied his sister to purchase groceries. When buying chicken priced at 260,000 Tomans per kilogram, Alireza expressed distress over the high cost of living, stating: "Look, we can afford this, but what about someone who can't?"

By 8:00 PM, hearing slogans echoing outside, his sister saw Alireza preparing to head out to the demonstrations. He put on multiple layers of clothing, carried a water bottle, placed his phone on airplane mode, and gave his sister two contact numbers for his friends. Despite her request to stay or let her accompany him, he said a brief goodbye and left.

A relative recalls the moment he walked out:

"Something drew me to the window to watch him leave. I watched him walk down the dead-end alley, and I remember his eager step. A poem came to mind: 'I saw with my own eyes that my soul was departing...' A feeling told me to keep watching, that it was the last time I would see him standing tall.

Shortly after 9:00 PM, the sound of heavy gunfire [Dushka] rang out. Knowing Alireza was in the crowd, we prepared to go find him. On the way, I remembered his last words—talking about inflation and how his father would cope if something happened to him, to which he had replied: 'A revolution costs something; if we don't pay the cost, how is change ever going to happen?' Just then, the phone rang with the news that Alireza had been wounded and had lost his life."

Legal Analysis and International Responsibility

The state-sanctioned killing of 16-year-old Alireza Seidi constitutes a severe violation of international human rights law, an arbitrary deprivation of life, and a violation of the rights of the child. Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)—to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a state party—and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), targeting individuals under the age of 18 with live ammunition and denying them immediate medical care violate core tenets of international law.

In this instance, state actors engaged in acts that amount to crimes against humanity, the extrajudicial killing of a child, the concealment of a crime, delay in releasing the body, and psychological harassment of a grieving family. Converting medical facilities into sites for detaining or abandoning wounded protesters violates fundamental human rights principles and international medical ethics.

All perpetrators, commanders, shooters, and institutional officials involved in these actions remain subject to international accountability mechanisms, UN fact-finding bodies, and the exercise of universal jurisdiction by sovereign states to address systemic impunity.

Report compiled by: Awin Mostafazadeh