ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Three members of a Kurdish family were killed after Iranian security forces opened fire at their vehicle on the Marivan-Baneh road in western Iran (Rojhelat), a rights group reported on Monday, amid pressure from Iranian forces threatening the family to label the deaths as the result of a car accident.
Rudaw has learned that Mehdi Tavakoli, a prominent photographer and cultural activist, along with his mother Maryam Aslani and his sister Somayeh, were traveling late Sunday when security forces fired “multiple bullets,” killing all three.
A source close to the victims’ family told Norway-based Hengaw human rights organization that “government authorities have pressured the Tavakoli family to refrain from publicizing the incident” and to instead state that the three “died in a car accident,” warning that funeral and mourning ceremonies would not be permitted if they publicly challenged that account.
The incident comes amid continued reports by Kurdish rights organizations of deadly operations by Iranian security forces in Kurdish areas, where activists and civilians have repeatedly been killed or detained under disputed circumstances.
Tavakoli was a well-known photographer and cultural figure in Sanandaj and a “former political prisoner,” according to information obtained by Rudaw and Hengaw, the latter which called the incident a “targeted state attack.”
He managed the Kurdistan Photographers House, founded the “Chaw” art house, organized photography exhibitions in the Kurdistan Region, and served on the jury of the 2026 Kurdistan Photo Festival in Sulaimani.
Hengaw reported that the three were buried on Monday at Behesht Mohammadi cemetery in Sanandaj under heavy security surveillance and that the bodies were first transferred to Salahaddin Ayoubi Hospital in Baneh before being taken to Sanandaj under the supervision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence organization.
Conversely, Iran state media and a spokesperson for the country's Law Enforcement Command rejected the claim and instead maintained that the three were armed members of the Kurdish opposition group, Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) and were killed during an armed confrontation on Monday.
Hengaw has categorically rejected that account, branding it as “a narrative fabricated by state media,” after its investigation found the victims to be civilians. The organization has called for an independent international investigation and urged human rights bodies to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Human rights groups have frequently accused Tehran of suppressing Kurdish civil and cultural activism, allegations the Iranian government rejects.
Iranian authorities have yet to respond with a statement regarding the circumstances of their shooting.
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