Neda Agha-Soltan (1982-2009), also called Neda Soltani, Iranian martyr, died on the streets of Tehran on Saturday June 20th 2009 during the violent crackdown by the government on protests against the 2009 election for president. It was put on the Internet and people all over the world saw her die.
Despite the media blackout, everyone in Iran knows about her. The government knows that they know.
She was about a kilometre away from the protests – people were running up the street fleeing the tear gas. She was in a car with her music teacher on the way to Freedom Square to take part. They got stuck in traffic. She was getting hot, so she got out of the car to get some air. Then there was the sound of a crack in the distance: she was shot square in the chest. People helped to lay her down. She said, “I’m burning, I’m burning”. In the video you see her eyes go dead and then blood comes out of her mouth and her nose to cover her face and people cry out in despair.
It is extremely upsetting to watch. Partly because of her age and sex: men are supposed to protect women, not kill them.
The killer was not shown – the video seems to start a second after she was shot. Witnesses say she was killed by a Basiji gunman on a roof across the street. The Basiji are paramilitary roughnecks that the government uses to do its dirty work. They are the ones that drove motorbikes during the crackdown looking for all the world like human hyenas or something out of Mad Max.
She died at 7:05 pm Tehran time (14:05 GMT) at the corner of Khosravi and Salehi streets. It was recorded by mobile phone and a few hours later was up on YouTube on the Internet. A doctor at the scene said she died within two minutes of getting shot, that there was no saving her.
She was denied a public funeral. The government would not even allow her family to mourn her properly. She was buried Sunday afternoon.
State television said nothing about her death until several days later: they said it was staged by the BBC – or maybe the CIA.
She was the second of three children, the daughter of a civil servant. She studied Islamic philosophy at Azad University. She loved travel and was learning Turkish to become a tour guide.
Time magazine points out that in Shia Islam, the main religion in Iran, people mourn their dead on the 3rd, 7th and 40th days. The 40th day is the big one. The Islamic revolution 30 years ago, in fact, progressed on a 40-day timetable: protests would lead to deaths, deaths to public mourning 40 days later, which would also became a new protest, which would lead to more death and so on.
Martyrdom is big in Shia Islam. From their history Shiites are very familiar with the idea of evil rulers dressing themselves up in religion and creating martyrs.
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I’m very sad and ashamed to say that I’m not really keeping up with the situation in Iran as much as I probably should. Thanks for posting this because I kept seeing her name, and I was wondering who she was.
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In the future we all may look back at June 20, 2009 as a major turning point in what still has the potential to be a second Iranian Revolution. Rest In Peace Neda!
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I saw the vid, it was so sad.
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Beauitfull woman how sad
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Just saw the video. It’s so terrible. Her eyes. It’s really sad. Just don’t know what else to say about it. Just really sad.
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Still crying for her inocent eyes…
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