{"id":19636,"date":"2022-11-20T20:20:40","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T01:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/?p=19636"},"modified":"2026-06-12T01:26:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T06:26:57","slug":"world-childrens-day-and-plight-of-children-killed-during-iran-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/2022\/11\/20\/world-childrens-day-and-plight-of-children-killed-during-iran-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"World Children\u2019s Day, and Plight of Children Killed During Iran Protests"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">November 20 marks\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/observances\/world-childrens-day\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">World Children\u2019s Day<\/a>, an occasion to promote children\u2019s welfare. Meanwhile, under the mullahs\u2019 regime in Iran, security forces have killed children during the\u00a0major protests\u00a0that have encompassed the country in the last two months.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kian Pirfalak, a ten-year-old boy from Izeh, southwest Iran, was killed by security forces on November 17. He was with his family, returning home when the oppressive forces opened fire on their vehicle.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"lyte-wrapper\" title=\"Iran protests: Funerals turn into mass protests | November 18, 2022\">\n<div id=\"WYL_JlYzytNU47o\" class=\"lyte lP\">\n<div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JlYzytNU47o?start=2&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen title=\"Iran protests: Funerals turn into mass protests | November 18, 2022\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"lyte_JlYzytNU47o\" class=\"pL\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FJlYzytNU47o%2Fhqdefault.jpg\">\n<div class=\"tC\">\n<div class=\"tT\">Iran protests: Funerals turn into mass protests | November 18, 2022<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"play\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lL\"><\/div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Videos from Kian, aspiring to become a robotic engineer, soon went viral on social media. His video of making a boat for a competition while saluting the \u201cGod of the rainbow\u201d wrenches the heart of every human being.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><\/div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kian was neither the first nor will be the last child killed by Iran\u2019s genocidal regime. Since the nationwide Iran uprising began, at least 57 children have been slain. What was their crime? Trying to make a change or yearning for the same condition as other children in the free world.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Nika Shahkarami, Sarina Ismailzadeh, Siavosh Mahmoudi, and many more underage children have lost their lives. Their videos on social media show that these innocent children were full of life and hope for a better future. They had many unrealized dreams and wishes, which ended with bullets and sticks.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The\u00a0People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK)\u00a0has published the names of nearly 500 martyrs of what many spectators consider Iran\u2019s democratic \u201crevolution.\u201d The youth, women, and children make up most of the victims.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">On October 13, Amnesty International\u00a0released a statement\u00a0condemning the killings of children, underlining that it \u201cshed further light on the authorities\u2019 deadly resolve to crush the widespread, ongoing protests.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cIf the international community were a person, how would it look these children and their parents in the eye? It would lower its head in shame over its inaction against the pervasive impunity enjoyed by the Iranian authorities for their systematic crimes and gross violations of human rights,\u201d said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International\u2019s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Indeed, what allows the clerical regime to continue with its killing spree is the \u201cpervasive impunity\u201d created due to the world community\u2019s ignorance of what has been happening in Iran.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"lyte-wrapper\" title=\"While killing children, the Iranian regime claims to fight vandalism and insecurity\">\n<div id=\"WYL_z2NNyR23ErQ\" class=\"lyte lP\">\n<div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z2NNyR23ErQ?start=1&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen title=\"While killing children, the Iranian regime claims to fight vandalism and insecurity\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"lyte_z2NNyR23ErQ\" class=\"pL\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fz2NNyR23ErQ%2Fhqdefault.jpg\">\n<div class=\"tC\">\n<div class=\"tT\">While killing children, the Iranian regime claims to fight vandalism and insecurity<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"play\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In June 1981, the regime\u2019s then-supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini ordered security forces to clamp down on a large protest organized by the MEK in Tehran. The security forces gunned down protesters and arrested many more. The day after, Iran\u2019s state-run newspaper Etalat featured photos of hanged teenage arrestees, asking their parents to identify them.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Mohsen Mohammad Bagher, a paralyzed child actor, was arrested in the early 1980s and was later executed along with 30,000 political prisoners in the summer of 1988. Most of the victims were MEK members and supporters.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The crisis of impunity in Iran allowed\u00a0Ebrahim Raisi, one of the main culprits of the 1988 massacre, to be selected as the genocidal regime\u2019s president. Raisi and the regime\u2019s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, are now using the same impunity to kill Iranian children.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Generation after generation, Iranian children have tasted nothing but misery and deprivation. Iran\u2019s ruling theocracy sent millions of school children to the frontlines during the Iran-Iraq war, using them as cannon fodders. Iran has one of the highest numbers of labor children. Daily videos showing children searching for food in trash cans circulate on social media.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The share of Iranian children from their rich country under the mullahs\u2019 regime has been nothing but poverty. Yet, Iranian youth have shown their unwavering determination to take back Iran in the last four decades, particularly in the past two months.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Despite the regime\u2019s brutality in killing children and youth, Iranians continue their uprising. Mothers of martyrs, like Kian\u2019s mother, vow to avenge their children, and every funeral turns into another protest.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This bravery deserves international support, and western governments should go beyond condemnations. True solidarity with the Iranian people recognizes the right to self-defense and holds the regime accountable for its crimes against humanity. These steps end four decades of impunity for the ruling theocracy and help Iranians in their struggle to secure a bright future for future generations.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>November 20 marks\u00a0World Children\u2019s Day, an occasion to promote children\u2019s welfare. Meanwhile, under the mullahs\u2019 regime in Iran, security forces have killed children during the\u00a0major <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/2022\/11\/20\/world-childrens-day-and-plight-of-children-killed-during-iran-protests\/\" title=\"World Children\u2019s Day, and Plight of Children Killed During Iran Protests\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":19637,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[433,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19636"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19636"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20127,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19636\/revisions\/20127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}