An Eyewitness Account of the Memorial Ceremony of “Golaleh Mahmudi Azar,” a 31-Year-Old Student
January 19, 2026; According to an eyewitness at the memorial ceremony of Golaleh Mahmudi Azar at her family home, her body was delivered to the family in exchange for 700 million , and security forces and the IRGC buried Golaleh’s body themselves in the same black bag, only allowing the family to see her face for 3 minutes. Permission for “shrouding and burial,” distributing obituary notices, or holding mourning ceremonies was not granted to the family; IRGC Special Unit forces with vehicles and weapons have been stationed in front of the family's door and have so far arrested several individuals. Additionally, the bodies of two other victims from Mahabad have not yet been delivered to their families due to an inability to pay, and it is said that 250 million Tomans is demanded from families for each bullet. Families are also under pressure to register their children in the government’s “Martyrs Foundation.”
January 19, 2026; Based on the statements of an eyewitness at the memorial ceremony held at the family home of “Golaleh Mahmudi Azar,” a 31-year-old Kurdish student from Mahabad killed in Tehran, her body was delivered to the family in exchange for the payment of 700 million Tomans. According to this witness, security forces and the IRGC buried Gelaleh’s body themselves in the same black bag and without the family’s permission, and the family was only allowed 3 minutes to see her face.
The family was not permitted to wash the body, perform the “shrouding and burial,” distribute obituary notices, or hold mourning ceremonies; IRGC and Special Unit forces with vehicles and weapons have been stationed in front of the family home. Furthermore, several people have been arrested during the course of this ceremony.
Regarding the method of body delivery and burial, this eyewitness says: To deliver the body of Golaleh Mahmudi Azar, an amount of 700 million Tomans was taken from the family, and one of her relatives at the memorial ceremony stated that 250 million Tomans was demanded for each bullet. Additionally, security and IRGC forces did not allow the family to wash the body or perform the “shrouding and burial” ceremony; the body was buried by the forces themselves in the same black bag, and only immediate relatives were allowed to see her face for a duration of 3 minutes.
The witness continues regarding the prevention of memorial and mourning ceremonies: Security and IRGC forces did not allow obituary notices for “Golaleh” to be distributed or published so that no one would attend the mourning and condolence ceremonies. Simultaneously, in front of the family home of this victim in Mahabad, IRGC forces in black uniforms from the Special Units (unlike in the past when mostly plainclothes forces were present) were stationed with vehicles and military weapons, monitoring everything and everyone to multiply the atmosphere of intimidation and repression and prevent the people’s presence at the memorial. During this mourning ceremony, several people were also arrested whose identities have not been determined for Kurdpa.
It should be noted that distributing obituary notices and the presence of the people of a city in mourning ceremonies—let alone acquaintances and relatives—is a common and widespread custom in Kurdistan, especially when a killing is committed by the government, the public participates in memorial and mourning ceremonies on a very large scale; an occurrence that IRGC and security forces have completely prevented this time.
Kurdpa had previously reported that the body of “Golaleh Mahmudi Azar” was buried on January 13, 2026, in a highly securitized atmosphere and with the extensive presence of repressive forces in Mahabad. The atmosphere of repression was such that it was not even possible to state why or how this victim was killed. The pressure exerted on the families and the depth of their grief was to the extent that Gelaleh’s mother was constantly biting her own hands.
This eyewitness also reports regarding two other Kurdish victims from Mahabad (two men) who were killed in Tehran, stating that their bodies have not yet been delivered due to the families' inability to pay the money. The family homes of these two victims are located in the “Bagh-e Shayegan” area of Mahabad, and individuals who went there to participate in mourning ceremonies were met with closed doors and the absence of the families at home.
It is not yet clear to Kurdpa whether these victims are related to the protests of January 8 or 9. On January 13, 2026, Kurdpa confirmed and published the killing of three Mahabad citizens, identifying them as “Golaleh Mahmudi Azar,” a student, and two others from the “Ayazi” and “Dibokri” families.
Regarding the intense pressure on families for the delivery of bodies, this eyewitness says: The pressure on families is very high; aside from taking money for the delivery of bodies, the government—by force and without the families' consent, under the shadow of repression and threats—compels them to register their children as “government martyrs.” The bodies are practically held hostage, and until the “Martyrs Foundation” forms are signed, the corpses are not delivered. For this reason, it is not clear how many families have been forced to sign this commitment or to what extent the government has proceeded with registering these cases without family consent.
Finally, this eyewitness says regarding the situation in Mahabad following this bloody repression and state killings: In the atmosphere of the ruthless slaughter of people and severe economic pressure, if previously news of suicide in Mahabad was published occasionally, such news has not been heard during this period; however, the pressure on livelihoods has increased drastically, such that the price of a tray of eggs has reached 500,000 Tomans and bread has become scarce.
Compiled by: Awin Mostafazadeh
