Shakerami Fire; 'Nika' Buried with 76 Armored Vehicles and Hundreds of Security Forces

Nika Shakerami's aunt revealed in an Instagram post about the anniversary of Kian Pirfalak that Kian's mother knew that 'if she let her child's body fall into the hands of security forces, they would take it hostage.' The post emphasized that after Nika's death, her body was stolen from the morgue, and while 'her aunt and uncle were under heavy interrogation with bloody mouths and broken backs, and the family was going back and forth between the cemetery and the governor's office, she was buried where they wanted, escorted by 76 armored vehicles and hundreds of suppressive forces, blocking all roads.' In her message to Kian's mother, Shakerami wrote: 'You are the symbol of the 'standing mother' in this movement, a mother who carries a burden that all political celebrities cannot even imagine, let alone bear.' Shakerami's post regarding Kian Pirfalak's anniversary on Instagram noted that security forces prevented the first anniversary of Nika Shakerami's death, one of the victims of the nationwide protests of 2022, from being held on the 30th of Shahrivar (September). Following government pressure on Nika Shakerami's family, they announced the cancellation of the ceremony. Nika's mother wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, September 29: 'It was decided to hold a memorial for my dear child Nika on the first anniversary of her death, but due to the problems that have arisen and because I do not want harm to come to other dear and honorable compatriots attending this ceremony, I am reluctantly canceling the event.' Nika's sister, Aida Shakerami, wrote on her Instagram page on Tuesday, September 28: 'Since last week, a security atmosphere has engulfed the entire Hayat al-Ghayb area; several compatriots intending to attend Nika's anniversary have been summoned, arrested, and threatened, but now they have allowed the ceremony to be held on the 30th of Shahrivar.' The body of 17-year-old Nika Shakerami was found on September 29, 2022, in the yard of a building. Nika was prominently involved in the protests, and a video of her burning a hijab was released. In the protests last year, which peaked after the killing of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the 'Guidance Patrol,' at least five hundred people, including seventy children and individuals under 18, were killed by Iranian government agents. The government's fear of the anniversary of Kian Pirfalak's death and the visibility of Mah Monir after a long period of silence was evident in the heavy security atmosphere in Izeh during the flower-laying ceremony at Kian Pirfalak's and Pouya Molaei Rad's graves. The early commemoration of Kian Pirfalak's anniversary was held a week earlier due to restrictions and the security atmosphere. A short video that Nika Shakerami's sister published of her on her birthday was shared. The early commemoration of Kian Pirfalak's death occurred in a media blackout and a severe security atmosphere. Exclusive reports indicated body searches of students in Izeh and pressures on Koukb Badaghi, a friend of the Pirfalak family. Nika Shakerami's aunt reacted to the pressures from security officials: 'I will fight with illness and you.'