Negin Abdolmaleki

Negin Abdolmaleki (March 9, 2002 – October 13, 2022)

Negin Abdolmaleki was a 21-year-old biomedical engineering student at Hamadan University of Technology and a native of Qorveh, Kurdistan, Iran. She was killed during the 2022 nationwide protests in Iran, known as the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.

Death During the Protests

Negin Abdolmaleki suffered severe head injuries from baton blows inflicted by security forces in the city of Hamadan. She returned to her student dormitory but succumbed to her injuries shortly after. Her death occurred amidst widespread demonstrations where thousands of young Iranians were advocating for justice and freedom.

Eyewitness Accounts

Students at Hamadan University reported that security personnel stormed the dormitory after her death, threatening students who were aware of the incident. Negin's family was summoned from Qorveh to Hamadan the same night. Authorities pressured them and the students to claim that her death was caused by consuming expired canned fish.

Government Claims

The Iranian authorities provided conflicting narratives about her death. On November 23, 2022, Hassan Khanjani, the Hamadan prosecutor, claimed she died from "alcohol poisoning" in a garden and that there were no signs of assault. Hassan Rezania, the deputy of political and security affairs in Hamadan province, stated on November 24, 2022, that her death was unrelated to the recent unrest and categorized it as a "criminal case." Official statements in Iran frequently attribute protester deaths to suicide, pre-existing health conditions, dog bites, or even fellow protesters’ actions rather than state violence.