Families of Victims Gather at Graves of the Deceased on the Last Thursday of the Year; Authorities Closed the Gates of Khavaran

In the last week of the year, families of victims from the nationwide protests of 1401 gathered at the graves of the protesters and families in Khavaran, commemorating their loved ones in front of the closed gates of this cemetery. Families and supporters of several victims and executed individuals from the nationwide protests attended their graves on the last Thursday of the year. Based on published images and videos, many families of the bereaved honored the memory of the deceased on Thursday, 24 Esfand. Relatives of Erfan Khazaei, a deceased protester, set up a Haft-Seen table at his grave. Erfan Khazaei was killed on 30 Shahrivar 1401 during the nationwide protests after being shot by a military bullet in Shahriar. The family of Mahsa Moqoui, a deceased protester in Fooladshahr, Isfahan, also visited her grave. Mahsa Moqoui, a 19-year-old athlete protester, was killed on 31 Shahrivar 1401 by a bullet in Fooladshahr, Isfahan. The family of Saleh Mirhashimi, an executed protester in Isfahan, also reported their presence at his grave. The parents of Houman Abdollahi, another victim of the nationwide protests in Sanandaj, visited their son's grave on the last Thursday of the year. The parents of Ailar Haghi, a medical student protester in Tabriz who died on 25 Aban 1401, also visited her grave with flowers and greenery. Supporters of Mohsen Shekari, an executed protester, lit candles in his memory. Alongside the widespread presence of families at the graves of the deceased protesters, government forces on Friday, 25 Esfand, prevented the families of political execution victims from visiting their loved ones' graves in Khavaran Cemetery in Tehran. This is not the first time that authorities have opposed the presence of Khavaran families to commemorate political prisoners executed in the 60s, demanding national ID cards from families. Mansoureh Behkish, a member of the Mothers and Families of Khavaran, who lost six family members during the executions of the 60s, posted on X about this news: 'Today, Khavaran families faced closed doors again before Nowruz, and the appointed officers demanded national ID cards for entry to Khavaran, which met with resistance from the families.' Based on published images, families honored the memory of political execution victims by showering the frames of their lost loved ones with flowers in front of the closed gates of Khavaran Cemetery. Meanwhile, according to the channel 'Charter of Freedom, Welfare, Equality,' for over two years, despite the resistance of Bahai families and the opposition of Khavaran families, the deceased of the Bahai community have been buried in the mass graves of Khavaran execution victims. Although the graves of Bahai citizens in this cemetery have also been targeted for destruction by the Islamic Republic's agents. Recently, the Bahai community reported the destruction of the burial site of over 30 Bahai citizens in Khavaran Cemetery by bulldozers of the Islamic Republic's agents and called for an end to the 'cultural cleansing' and 'erasure of Bahai identity' by the Iranian government. The commemoration of the victims of the nationwide protests of 1401 by the families of the bereaved occurs amid efforts by the Islamic Republic's intelligence agencies to intensify pressures through threats, summons, and arrests to silence them regarding the deceased protesters. A statement from a group of 'Khavaran Families' inside Iran: 'End the execution of freedom-seeking protesters.' The global Bahai community: 'The Islamic Republic must stop the cultural cleansing of the Bahai community.' Security agents closed the gates of Khavaran to the families of the executed in the 60s. The body of Afaq Khosravi-Zand, a Bahai citizen, was buried in Khavaran 'against the heartfelt wishes of the family.'