Nasrin Shakeri: On Nika's Birthday, I Shouted 'Congratulations on Your Martyrdom'

Nasrin Shakeri, the mother of Nika Shakeri, a teenager killed during the protests in Iran in 2022, wrote in an Instagram post on the evening of October 1st, marking her daughter's birthday: "On the day of Nika's 17th birthday, with a broken heart, I shouted 'Congratulations on your martyrdom.'" In this post, Nasrin shared images of Nika from when she was 7 years old and added: "October 1st is Nika's birthday, and it is also the day when the wicked hands of the devil cruelly snatched my precious Nika from me and buried her." She continued by recalling memories of Nika's childhood and her 'noble' behaviors, addressing her: "My dear, your life was short, but your gaze was long, your words were profound, and your actions were valuable. On your birthday, you were like a seed planted to sprout in hearts and be born in souls. You must multiply so that freedom, dignity, courage, honor, authenticity, love, humanity, and kindness can be multiplied." Nika Shakeri, born on October 1, 2005, was a teenager who was abducted, tortured, sexually assaulted, and ultimately killed by several members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during nationwide protests in Iran on September 20, 2022. Nika's family identified her damaged body in Kahrizak ten days after her death, but government agents stole her body and secretly buried her in the Hayat al-Ghayb cemetery near Khorramabad. BBC World reported on April 30, 2024, that it had obtained a highly classified report from the IRGC indicating that Nika Shakeri was killed by three government forces named Arash Kalhor, Sadegh Monjazi, and Behrouz Sadeghi. An artwork from Nika's legacy; Atash Shakeri: 'You fought and were brutally killed.' Government forces blocked access to Nika Shakeri's grave. 'They kill the child and imprison the mother;' two mothers from the 'November Justice' movement were sentenced to three years in prison. Mahsa Amini's father: 'The judiciary has not yet responded to the family regarding the case; we will hold a memorial ceremony.' Nika Shakeri's sister: 'The dimensions of the Islamic Republic's crimes are much broader than what has been revealed so far.'