Mataleb Saeidpiro

Mataleb Saeidpiro (May 22, 1982 – November 5, 2022)

Mataleb Saeidpiro was born on May 22, 1982, to Rahman and Aisha Saeidpiro. He worked as a self-employed laborer. Saeid piro, a Kurdish citizen from Baneh in Iran’s Kurdistan Province, was killed on November 5, 2022, during the nationwide protests of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in Iran. Reports and documented evidence, including an investigation by Sky News, indicate that he was deliberately targeted by Iranian government forces despite not actively participating in the protests at the time of the shooting.
Following the 40th-day memorial ceremony for Jina Mahsa Amini on November 4, 2022, large-scale demonstrations spread across Kurdish cities and other parts of Iran. The city of Baneh became one of the major centers of protest on November 5. At the same time, Iranian security and military forces intensified their crackdown on civilians. According to local reports, at least twelve people were killed across Kurdistan Province during November 4 and 5, including Mataleb Saeidpiro and Fereydoun Faraji in Baneh.
According to informed local sources, on the afternoon of November 5, after public protests had taken place in Baneh, security forces opened fire on civilians in an attempt to disperse demonstrators. During this period, Mataleb Saeidpiro was reportedly returning home in his personal vehicle when two vehicles carrying members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stopped him. Witness accounts state that Saeidpiro greeted the officers, but without warning or justification, they smashed the windows of his vehicle and fired multiple shotgun pellets at him.
The pellets struck the left rear side of his body, causing severe injuries to his left lung, heart, and internal organs. Despite being wounded, Saeidpiro managed to drive close to his home before collapsing. He was transferred to Salahaddin Ayoubi Hospital in Baneh, where he died approximately thirty minutes later due to the severity of his injuries.
The shooting took place in the “Shura” neighborhood near Police Station No. 12 in Baneh. His body was returned to his family the following day and buried in the village of Khajeh Amir. Sources also reported that security forces temporarily withheld his body and threatened the family against holding a large public funeral ceremony.
A documented report broadcast by Sky News included verified CCTV footage showing the moments leading to Saeidpiro’s killing. The footage reportedly shows armed men, some wearing IRGC and Basij uniforms and others in plain clothes, attacking his vehicle, pursuing him, and opening fire. The report emphasized that he was not participating in protests when he was targeted.
After his death, Saeidpiro’s family filed a legal complaint and demanded accountability for those responsible. According to informed sources, Iranian security institutions, through a local intermediary identified as “Kamal Chomani,” allegedly offered the family 10 billion tomans and official recognition through the Foundation of Martyrs in exchange for withdrawing their complaint. The family reportedly rejected the offer and continued to seek justice.
Sources further stated that the family was threatened with arrest and intimidation if they refused to withdraw the case. Pressure on the family reportedly continued after the release of the CCTV footage, and the individual who shared the videos with media outlets was allegedly detained for approximately one month before being released due to illness.
One day later, on November 6, 2022, another Kurdish citizen, Dastan Rasul, from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, was also killed while traveling to attend the mourning ceremony for Mataleb Saeidpiro in Baneh. According to reports, he was shot directly in the neck by Iranian security forces while traveling toward the border village of Choman.
Dastan Rasul’s family later filed a complaint against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps through courts in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. However, according to family sources, no effective response or accountability has followed.
Dastan Rasul, the son of Rasul Mohammad and Gohar Swareh, was born in 1991. He was married and the father of a young child.