Yasuj: Suspicious death of Asma Ghazanfari, a student who was Gang-raped

Hengaw: Wednesday, March 18, 2025

Asma Ghazanfari, a young student from Yasuj who had been blackmailed and gang-raped, and became known as the “Girl of Yasuj,” ended her life by ingesting pills. Some sources have described her death as suspicious.

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Sunday, March 16, 2025, Esma Ghazanfari, a 26-year-old student from Yasuj, who had been subjected to gang rape earlier in the fall, passed away. Her funeral was held in complete silence, with no media coverage. Some of her close acquaintances claim that she committed suicide by taking pills.

A source close to the Ghazanfari family told Hengaw:
“Asma Ghazanfari’s death is highly suspicious. The silence of her family and the fact that her funeral was held in a remote village far from her hometown only reinforce suspicions. It is unclear whether she committed suicide.”

On December 2, 2024, reports surfaced in Yasuj, the capital of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, about a young woman being blackmailed and gang-raped following an online dispute with classmates. A video of the assault was later leaked online. At the time, Mehr News Agency, citing the Yasuj police, reported that all individuals involved in the crime had been arrested.

Following the assault, Asma Ghazanfari was also physically attacked with a knife and sustained severe injuries, requiring hospitalization for an extended period.

Notably, her body was quietly buried on Monday in a remote village, with only a small number of attendees, far from her birthplace.