Grieving Mother Seeks Justice After Teenage Daughter’s Protest Death

Case Background and Warnings

• Subject: 16-year-old Sevda, killed during protests
• Status: Mother Samira living in exile while seeking accountability
• Content Warning: Distressing accounts of civil unrest and violence
• Interview Source: Panorama documentary

Samira describes her previous life in Iran as entirely apolitical, noting that she worked in sales selling cosmetics. However, everything changed when her only child, 16-year-old Sevda, was shot dead during mass demonstrations. Following the killing, Samira alleges that Iranian authorities actively obstructed her efforts to recover her daughter’s body, marking the start of a persistent campaign of harassment against her. According to samira, She never used to be political. Sixteen-year-old Sevda was taking part in protests against Iran’s repressive regime that engulfed the country earlier this year – before the US and Israel launched widespread air strikes which killed the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But just the beginning of all the harassment they put me through, i realised that finding Sevda wasn’t the end. Navigating dangerous mountainous terrain, samira made a dramatic escape from Iran on foot. Samira is among several Iranians has spoken to since the start of the year. Some, still inside the country, told Panorama they wanted to speak out despite the risks, saying they had found it difficult to hold on to hope once the mass protests had been brutally crushed. According to samira, She and Sevda had responded to a call by Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah (king), for demonstrations. They lied so much in Iran… We couldn’t imagine a massacre of that scale. Which they tend to do during their riots… we’re going to hit them very hard, he had told US media on 8 January: “I have let [the Iranian authorities] know that if they start killing people. Her daughter took off her earrings and gave them to her grandmother. Blood was gushing out her mouth and nose. To hide how many people they had killed, they did this to cover up what they’d done on 8 and 9 January. They silenced families by telling them to say their loved ones were killed by Israeli or American terrorists. According to a few days before the ceremony to mark 40 days since Sevda died – highly significant in Iranian culture – she, She was summoned by a local branch of the Ministry of Intelligence. Because she had shared Sevda’s death with an Iranian media organisation based in London, once the internet had been reconnected in the country, she is sure this offer was prompted by fear. It scared them that I was in touch with external networks or those outside Iran.

Sevda was killed on 9 January as she and her mother participated in major demonstrations on the outskirts of Tehran.

The teenager had been deeply inspired by other young activists, including Mahsa Amini and Nika Shakarami, who also lost their lives during earlier uprisings against the nation’s strict Islamic dress codes. Samira recalls that Sevda remained committed to the cause, stating that her daughter kept their memories alive in her thoughts and felt a drive to continue their path of resistance. And the paramilitary Basij Resistance Force are volunteers for the IRGC, the IRGC defends the country’s Islamic establishment.

On 8 January, the day before the shooting, protesters gathered in high numbers. Samira claims that they felt encouraged by public statements from US President Donald Trump, who had warned Iranian authorities against harming demonstrators. However, by the following day, the crowds appeared smaller as the government allegedly issued a shoot-to-kill order. According to Samira, the security presence seemed to overwhelm the number of protesters in their area. One human rights group, Hrana, however, estimates the number of dead stands at more than 7,000, most of them protesters.

The events turned lethal when a sniper allegedly fired from a nearby rooftop. Samira reports that a bullet struck her daughter, and despite rushing Sevda to a hospital, medical staff were unable to save her. After the death, Samira was forced to endure a harrowing search for her child’s body. She eventually discovered Sevda’s remains in a facility where multiple bodies were piled together, describing the experience as traumatic. A sniper fired from the roof of a building on our right.

Authorities in Iran acknowledge that over 3,000 people were killed during the protests, though they claim some of the victims were associated with opposing forces. To secure the release of her daughter’s body for a funeral, Samira says she was coerced into stating that “terrorists” were responsible for the death rather than state security forces. Even after the burial, she faced ongoing intimidation, including being barred from visiting the grave and threats to arrest her family members. To avoid giving the interview, Samira fled Iran as soon as the 40th day anniversary was over.

A recent incident involving a memorial vigil for what would have been Sevda’s 17th birthday highlighted the ongoing risks.

Samira, watching from abroad via a livestream, saw the event cut short when security forces raided the gathering, leading to the arrest of her friends and relatives. Sevda then stood on a dustbin and began leading a chant. A house, or anything that you want, then we will announce her [as] a martyr – you will then receive perks.

Currently living in hiding, Samira describes herself as a one-woman army fighting the regime.

She uses social media to publish the names of officials and security personnel she holds responsible for the lethal crackdown.

The Iranian embassy in London maintains that the protests were peaceful in nature but were eventually hijacked by foreign powers, including the US, whom they accuse of supplying weapons and inciting violence. Meanwhile, Samira remains defiant in her search for accountability. Despite receiving threats—including a $5,000 bounty placed on her location by regime supporters—she insists that she will not stop exposing those she believes participated in the violence.

The full account of Samira’s struggle and the broader experiences of those who lived through the year’s events is documented in the programIran: The People’s Story. Viewers can watch the documentary on One at 20:00 on Monday, 2 November 2026.