Mohammad Keyvan Darvishi

Mohammad Keyvan Darvishi (November 20, 1980 – November 4, 2022)

Mohammad Keyvan Darvishi was born on November 20, 1980. He was a 42-year-old worker from Sanandaj, a city that became one of the centers of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising in Iran during 2022.
In the days leading up to the fortieth day memorial of Mahsa Amini, Sanandaj was filled with protests. On the night of November 4, 2022, chants of “Death to the Dictator” echoed through the city’s neighborhoods as young protesters gathered in the streets. Security forces were heavily deployed across Sanandaj and opened fire on demonstrators in an attempt to suppress the uprising. Gunfire continued throughout the night, leaving many people wounded or dead.
That night, Mohammad Keyvan Darvishi joined other protesters in the “Kamarbandi 25” neighborhood. During clashes with government forces, he was struck by shotgun pellets that hit vital parts of his body and severely wounded him.
Bleeding heavily, he managed to return home. Fearing that his elderly mother would panic if she saw his condition, he quietly went into his room and closed the door behind him. Before sunrise, he died from the severity of his injuries. The following morning, on November 4, his mother discovered his blood-covered body.
Human rights activists later reported that Keyvan had knowingly and willingly joined the protests because he believed he could not remain silent in the face of injustice. Three days before his death, he had written a letter expressing his decision:
“God, I ask You for an honorable death. Help me take back the rights of these innocent people. I cannot remain a spectator…”
According to reports published by the human rights organization Hengaw, despite the heavy presence of security forces in Sanandaj on the evening of November 4, protests continued in many neighborhoods across the city. Government forces reportedly used live ammunition against protesters.
Sources cited by Hengaw stated that in the Kamarbandi 25 area, Mohammad Keyvan Darvishi, aged 42, and another young man, Mohammad Shariati, were killed by direct gunfire from government forces. In another neighborhood of Sanandaj, Nayser, a young man named Mohammad Lotfollahi was also killed.
Reports further indicated that the bodies of the victims were buried during the night under pressure from security authorities and without public funeral ceremonies. Although Keyvan Darvishi died from pellet wounds, his death certificate reportedly listed the cause of death as “cardiac arrest.”
Mohammad Keyvan Darvishi became one of the many names remembered from the 2022 uprising in Iran — a worker from Sanandaj who chose not to remain a bystander and ultimately gave his life during the struggle for freedom.
In the weeks that followed, Kurdish artist Farhad Pouryari created a sand sculpture of Mohammad Keyvan Darvishi to honor his memory — a tribute to a man who, as many said, “did not remain a spectator and stepped into the میدان.”