Two Kurdish families in western Iran have learned the fate of their missing sons months after the country’s deadly January crackdown, following the exhumation of bodies that had been buried under the wrong identities, according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).
One of the victims, 18-year-old Soroush Karami, disappeared during protests in Kermanshah on Jan. 8. His family spent months searching for him after reports suggested he had been arrested and transferred to solitary confinement on charges of moharebeh, or “enmity against God.”
The second victim, 17-year-old Amir Ali Haydari, was also killed during the protests. His family believed they had buried him in their home village, but later learned from a forensic department employee that his body had instead remained in a morgue for several months before being buried anonymously in a cemetery in Kermanshah.
KHRN said prosecutors later ordered both graves to be opened. Forensic examinations, including the identification of a metal implant in Haydari’s leg, confirmed the identities of the two victims. Karami’s remains were returned to his family and reburied on Wednesday in his hometown.
The rights group said confusion over the identities stemmed from the chaotic aftermath of the crackdown, when many families secretly buried relatives to prevent authorities from seizing the bodies, leaving some victims without proper identification.
The case highlights the uncertainty still faced by families searching for relatives who disappeared during the nationwide protests that erupted over Iran’s economic crisis before expanding into wider anti-government demonstrations.
According to Amnesty International, security forces carried out their deadliest crackdown on Jan. 8 and 9. Human rights group HRANA has documented more than 7,000 deaths and over 50,000 arrests during the first six weeks of the unrest, while Iranian authorities have reported significantly lower casualty figures.
KHRN said hundreds of Kurdish citizens were killed in Kermanshah during the crackdown, although it has so far verified the identities of 64 victims.
