Breathing in Confinement

Ali Heydari’s Body Handed Over to His Family One Month After Arrest

12-February-2026

Category: protesters

 

10 February 2026
News category: Protests

Breathing in Confinement – Ali Heydari, a 20-year-old young man, was injured during popular protests on 8 January 2026 in Mashhad after being shot directly in the leg by security forces. According to accounts from his friends, he was arrested while in critical physical condition. From that point onward, despite repeated follow-ups, his family remained completely unaware of his health status, place of detention, or fate for several weeks. During this period, no official, transparent, or responsible information was provided by the relevant authorities.

On 9 February 2026, security agents contacted Ali Heydari’s family by telephone and informed them that his lifeless body had been held for nearly one month at Behesht-e Reza Cemetery. When the family received his body, clear signs of a gunshot wound to the middle of his forehead were visible—an alarming and deeply troubling contradiction to the initial account that he had been injured in the leg. This discrepancy raises serious and disturbing questions about the circumstances of his death.

The failure to promptly inform the family of his arrest, the deprivation of their right to information and visitation, the prolonged retention of his body without notification, and the presence of evident fatal injuries all strongly reinforce the likelihood that Ali Heydari was killed while in custody. These acts constitute clear instances of grave violations of fundamental human rights, including the right to life, the right to a fair trial, and the prohibition of extrajudicial killing, under both domestic law and the international obligations of the Islamic Republic.