Negin Salehi

Negin Salehi (October 23, 1995 – October 8, 2022)

Negin Salehi was a 26-year-old woman from the Fakhrabad neighborhood near Baharestan Square in Tehran. Quiet, kind-hearted, and humble, she worked as an accountant in an audio and video store on جمهوری Street. She loved horses deeply — to her, they symbolized courage, freedom, endurance, and the beauty of living without chains. Only a few weeks later, she was supposed to celebrate her 27th birthday. Instead of birthday candles, candles were lit beside her grave.
On October 8, 2022, during the first weeks of Iran’s nationwide uprising following the death of Mahsa Amini, Negin was returning home from work when protests erupted in the streets around جمهوری Street. The city was filled with anger, grief, and the voices of people demanding freedom. Like many young Iranians, she could not remain indifferent. She joined the crowd and raised her voice alongside others, shouting for liberty and justice.
Soon after, plainclothes security forces and Basij militia members violently attacked the protesters. Negin tried to escape, but two men chased her down. One grabbed her arm and threw her onto the ground. They repeatedly struck her head with batons. Blood poured from her forehead, and when she no longer had the strength to defend herself, they left her wounded on the street.
Bystanders dragged her to the side of a wall to protect her from further attacks. A compassionate woman helped arrange a car to take her home. Her mother embraced her in panic and desperation, calling her name over and over.
Negin’s condition rapidly worsened. Severe nausea and internal injuries overwhelmed her body. While being taken to the hospital, with her mother holding her hand, she died before reaching medical care.
After her death, security forces reportedly pressured her family and prevented them from holding a public memorial ceremony. Authorities allegedly attempted to silence news of her killing and distort the circumstances of her death. Negin was buried quietly in Behesht Zahra Cemetery, in Section 5, Row 9.
Yet silence could not erase her memory.
Negin Salehi became one of the many young voices of Iran’s 2022 uprising — a young woman whose only “crime” was shouting for freedom. Today, her name remains a symbol of courage, resistance, and the generation that stood against fear, even at the cost of their lives.