Identities of six more people killed in Tehran protests verified
Hengaw – Saturday, January 17, 2026
The identities of six individuals killed by direct gunfire from Iranian government forces during recent anti-government protests in Tehran have been verified after one week. The victims are Behnam Darvish, Mehrdad Yaghoubi Mehr, Ali Behroozdoust, Hossein Naseri, Masoud Bolourchi, and Ahmad Abbasi. Two of them, Darvish and Yaghoubi Mehr, were of Lor ethnicity.
According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Hossein Naseri was killed on the evening of Friday, January 9, 2026, after being shot by Iranian government forces during protests in Tehran.
Naseri’s daughter, Mahnoosh Naseri, confirmed her father’s death on Friday, January 16, by publishing his photo on Instagram. She stated that he lost his life as a result of direct gunfire by Iranian government forces during the protests.
On the same day, Ali Behroozdoust, a 25-year-old resident of Tehran, succumbed to his injuries. He had been critically wounded by direct fire from Iranian government forces on Thursday evening during the protests.
Also on Thursday, January 8, 2026, two Lor men, Behnam Darvish, a 33-year-old from Nahavand in Hamadan Province, and Mehrdad Yaghoubi Mehr, originally from Dorud in Lorestan Province and a resident of Tehran, were shot and killed by Iranian authorities.
Informed sources told Hengaw that Darvish, the owner of “Dood Burger” restaurant, was killed in the Tehranpars district, while Yaghoubi Mehr was killed in the Qaleh Hassan Khan area of Tehran.
Masoud Bolourchi, a 37-year-old physiotherapist based in Tehran, was also killed during the protests after being shot in the back with live ammunition. A source stated that his body was later located at the Kahrizak forensic facility after an extensive search among thousands of victims. Bolourchi was the founder of the “Rash” physiotherapy clinic in Tehran’s Darous neighborhood and lived on Sohrevardi Street.
Ahmad Abbasi, a theater actor from Karaj, was killed the same day on Pirouzi Street in Tehran after being shot by Iranian government forces using live ammunition.
According to Hengaw’s sources, Abbasi’s mother held her son’s body throughout the night in the same alley where he was killed, fearing that state forces would seize it. The body was eventually transferred to the Kahrizak forensic facility. Authorities demanded one billion tomans as a “bullet fee” for the family to retrieve the body, and the family has so far been unable to pay this amount, preventing them from taking possession of his body.
