18 January 2026 :

January 18, 2026 - IRAN. Amir Naderi and Saman Fattahi killed during protests

Two Kurdish men, Amir Naderi and Saman Fattahi, were killed by direct gunfire from Iranian forces during recent protests in Eslamabad-e Gharb and Kermanshah

According to verified information obtained by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Naderi, a 27-year-old from the village of Barfabad in Eslamabad-e Gharb County, was fatally shot on January 8, 2026, when Iranian forces opened fire on demonstrators.

On the same day, Saman Fattahi, a well-known athlete from Kermanshah and a member of Iran’s national taekwondo team, was also killed after being shot in the city’s Sabuni neighborhood.

Sources report that Fattahi was struck in the head by live ammunition and died from his injuries. He was a follower of the Yarsan faith and is the eighth Kurdish adherent of this religion confirmed killed in the recent protests.

Iranian authorities withheld Fattahi’s body from his family until they paid 700 million tomans. He was buried on January 11, 2026, at Ragheh Sarab Tiran Cemetery in Kuzaran, Kermanshah.

https://hengaw.net/en/news/2026/01/article-146-1