21 February 2026 :
February 20, 2026 - IRAN. Victim Accounts: Nighttime Burial of Mohammad Ranjbar Hosseinabadi
In Arak Under Security Forces' Watch
Mohammad Ranjbar Hosseinabadi, 31, was killed during the nationwide protests in January 2026 in Arak, shot three times in the chest and abdomen by security forces. A source close to his family provided IHRNGO with details about the circumstances of his killing.
Mohammad Ranjbar Hosseinabadi, a married father of a three-year-old son, lived in Arak and owned an auto parts shop.
According to the source, on the evening of 9 January 2026, he joined a crowd gathered at Shoora Square (Bagh-e Melli) in Arak. Minutes later, he was shot by security forces and fell to the ground, shouting in pain. Due to the intensity of the gunfire, bystanders were unable to reach him, and security forces eventually removed his wounded body.
Four days later, on 13 January, the Arak branch of the Legal Medicine Organisation contacted the family and asked them to come identify and claim his body. The family was informed that his body would only be released if they signed a form declaring that Ranjbar Hosseinabadi was a Basiji (member of the paramilitary branch of IRGC) and paid 600 million tomans (around US$4000) in cash. The family refused to sign the form, and it took them two days of great challenges to gather the required sum.
The source added: “Due to the family’s refusal to present Mohammad as a Basiji, they were not allowed to hold a funeral or burial ceremony in the presence of relatives and friends. Ranjbar’s family were told that before his body would be released, they had to hold the ceremony privately. They therefore held a private memorial service on 14 January at the Ali Asghar Hosseiniyeh Hall.”
“A day later, after paying the requested amount,” the source continued, “Mohammad’s body was released to the family. He was buried at 4:30 a.m. in the dark at Arak cemetery, in the presence of 13 security forces and only three members of his family: his father, mother and wife. The family were threatened that if they spoke publicly about the case, Mohammad’s property and shop would be confiscated and all family members would be arrested.”
The source added: “Mohammad was raised in a religious, non-governmental family, though he himself was not particularly religious. He loved Iran deeply and was highly patriotic, naming his son Nariman. He was kind and a pillar of support for the entire family. The government, by killing him, destroyed the family’s heart and sense of security.”
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/8627/
