Anila Abotalebyan

How they died

8-year-old girl shot and killed while traveling with her mother in a car in Isfahan. They were trying to go home but security forces blocked their route. The mother circled around multiple times, explaining that their home was on that street, but they still wouldn't let her pass. When she took an alternative route, they ordered her to stop and then opened fire. The child was killed. Authorities threatened the family extensively and buried the child under the name of 'national martyrs' in their procession at Isfahan's Martyrs Cemetery. The mother's condition deteriorated severely and she attempted suicide by cutting her wrists, though she survived. The child's school and classmates were heavily threatened not to speak about the child or their friend. Days later, state TV went to the school and made the 8-year-old children cry while filming them, then forced them to sing Iranian national songs. Graffiti was written on city walls saying 'Anila, martyr of Iran, death to America.'

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Anila Abotalebyan, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.