Latif Karimi
Gunshot wounds caused by live ammunition fired by Iranian government forces.
Latif Karimi was fatally shot after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces opened direct fire on protesters in Malekshahi. He was hit by live ammunition while standing among demonstrators. Despite being transported to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ilam for medical treatment, he succumbed to his injuries. Human rights sources and eyewitnesses consistently identify government forces as responsible for the shooting.
Biography
Latif Karimi was a Kurdish resident of Malekshahi in Iran’s Ilam Province and a retired brigadier general. Despite his former military rank, he was present among civilian demonstrators during public protests in early January 2026. Witnesses and human rights organizations report that he was shot by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces while standing among protesters. After being wounded, he was taken to hospital, where he later died. Following his death, Iranian state media attempted to portray him as a government-affiliated casualty killed by protesters—claims strongly rejected by his family and contradicted by eyewitness accounts.
Latif Karimi was a Kurdish man from Malekshahi, Ilam Province, and a retired brigadier general. In January 2026, during nationwide protests in Iran, he attended a demonstration in his hometown. According to eyewitnesses and reports received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Karimi was unarmed and standing among demonstrators when IRGC forces opened direct fire on the crowd.
His son, Emad Karimi, later stated publicly that his father’s only act was telling security forces not to shoot at people. Karimi was struck by live ammunition and transferred to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ilam, where he later died from his injuries. After his death, state-affiliated media circulated images of him and claimed he had been killed during clashes with protesters, attempting to depict him as aligned with government forces. These claims were rejected by his family and contradicted by multiple witness accounts, reflecting a broader pattern of narrative manipulation following protest-related deaths in Iran.
Pleas of Surviving Relatives and Family if any
Latif Karimi’s son, Emad Karimi, publicly rejected state media claims that his father was killed by protesters. In a statement posted on Instagram, he emphasized that his father was killed directly by government forces and stated that his father’s only “crime” was asking them not to shoot at the people. His family’s statements seek truth, accountability, and an end to the misrepresentation of protest victims by state institutions.
Sources & References
Latif Karimi shot dead in Ilam; authorities seek to distort reality1 hengaw.net Open source
A Boxer, A Truck Driver, And A Hip-Hop Artist: The Protesters Killed In Iran2 rferl.org Open source
Iran: Deaths and injuries rise amid authorities’ renewed cycle of protest bloodshed3 amnesty.org Open source