Iranians Memorialize 1,500 Martyrs Murdered in 2019

WASHINGTON (11-16) – Calling for accountability in the murder of as many as 1,500 martyrs killed during the Bloody November 2019-2020 nationwide civil protests in Iran, precipitated by a massive escalation in the cost of gasoline, several hundred Iranian Americans remembered their fallen countrymen and women during a memorial today outside of the White House.

The protesters called for the overthrow of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and demanded accountability for the prosecution of those involved in the brutal crackdown that resulted in the deaths.

It was later reported that security forces involved in the crackdown released massive asymmetrical lethality by using live ammunition against unarmed demonstrators resulting in the extreme number killed. Many of the victims had been shot when fleeing, and others after being arrested were beaten while imprisoned. Families of those killed reported that their loved one’s bodies had gun shoot wounds in their “head and/or in the chest.”

Amnesty International reported later in 2020 that “On June 24, Iran’s Supreme Court had upheld the death sentences against three young men arrested after participating in the protests, Amirhossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi, and Mohammad Rajabi, on charges of taking part in destruction and burning, aimed at countering the Islamic Republic of Iran. After a domestic backlash, lawyers representing the men announced that the judiciary accepted their appeal to halt the case.”

Just this week ahead of the fifth anniversary of the killings, the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) had requested that the United Nations hold Iranian authorities accountable for the deaths in the deadly crackdown. To date, none of those involved in the brutal suppression during the riots have ever been charged for their actions.

Addressing the crowd in English and Farsi, speakers vowed never to return to 2019 to honor the memory and sacrifice for those killed and called for an end to injustice and corruption in Iran while expressing solidarity and dignity for the lives taken. Nothing that while their future had been stolen that day, the hearts of Iranians have endured for a brighter future ahead.

The human rights activists also memorialized the 750 protesters killed during the 2022 riots that occurred when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman, died in police custody after being arrested by the infamous Morality Police for the crime of wearing her hijab incorrectly. Her death resulted in the reawakening of the Kurdish women activist’s funeral chant of “Women, Life, Freedom” in calling for greater freedom and liberty for women including ending the mandatory hijab laws and the fall of the regime.

The activists noted that today’s memorial honoring their fellow country men and women was a sign of resilience and strength for their cause in establishing a “free, secular, democratic and non-nuclear state.”

Report and photos by Phil Pasquini

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