Abolfazl Vahid Gezeljeh-Meydan

Their life

Abolfazl Vahid Gezeljeh-Meydan was a 13-year-old boy from Yakhchiabad in Tehran. Born in 2011, he lost his mother to COVID-19 at age nine and later left school after sixth grade to work in a shoemaking shop to support himself and his family. On January 8, 2026, during protests in Tehran’s Naziabad neighborhood, he was shot in the neck and died from severe bleeding at Mofarah Hospital. His family later faced difficulties retrieving his body and reported ongoing pressure from authorities to declare him a state “martyr.”

Abolfazl was born in 2011 to Parvin and Nasser. His parents had separated around the time of his birth, and after his mother’s death in 2021 from COVID-19, his older sister assumed responsibility for raising him and their younger sister.

He studied until the sixth grade before entering the workforce. He worked in a shoemaking workshop, where his hands were often stained with glue. Those close to him say he dreamed of becoming wealthy, buying foreign sneakers, owning a motorcycle, and eventually purchasing a car at age 18.

On the night of January 8, 2026, he was present with friends near 17 Shahrivar Park in Naziabad when security forces reportedly fired into the crowd. A projectile struck his neck, fatally injuring him.

His family endured prolonged delays and confusion while attempting to retrieve his body from Kahrizak morgue and later from facilities connected to Behesht-e Zahra. He was ultimately buried in Plot 307, in his mother’s grave, late at night on January 10 in a largely unattended burial.

How they died

Abolfazl was killed during the nationwide protests in Tehran on January 8, 2026. According to eyewitnesses and family accounts reported by IranWire and cited by CNN, he was shot when security forces opened fire on demonstrators in the Naziabad neighborhood.

Witnesses state that Abolfazl was struck in the left side of his neck by gunfire, reportedly a tracer or live round, while near 17 Shahrivar Park in Naziabad. The bullet tore his carotid artery, causing massive bleeding.

He was transported unconscious but with a pulse to Mofarah Hospital in Yakhchiabad. Despite attempts at resuscitation, he died from severe blood loss.

His death certificate reportedly listed the cause as “impact of projectiles and falling objects on the individual.” No autopsy or independent forensic report was provided to the family.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Abolfazl Vahid Gezeljeh-Meydan, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources