“This morning, in a joint operation of the Ministry of Intelligence, IRGC and Police (FRAJA), an armed team of them was arrested.” Sadegh Jafari Chegini, Khuzestan’s Attorney General, on December 20, 2022, emphasized on an “armed clash” and said 2 were arrested while 2 were killed. The two killed were later identified as “Mahmoud Ahmadi” and “Hossein Saeidi” by the locals. The 2 arrested were identified as Abbas (Mojahed) Kourkouri and Houman Seydali.
On November 16, 2022, in the midst of nationwide protests in Iran after the murder of Mahsa Amini by the Islamic Republic, Pirfalak’s family car in Izeh, Khuzestan province, was fired upon. Kian Pirfalak (9) was killed and Meysam, his father, was severely injured. According to Amnesty International, on the same day and in the same city, at least 6 more were killed, including 2 minors: Artin Rahmani (16) and Sepehr Maghsoudi (14), making it a “Bloody Wednesday.”
Immediately after, Mizan, FarsNews, and other regime media quoting the Attorney General of Khuzestan announced, “arresting 3 of the main culprits of Izeh incident.” A day later, Novermber 18, 2022, Mohsen Rezaei, Vice President in Economics, made it more dramatic: “3 of the main perpetrators of Izeh incident were arrested on their way leaving the country through Maku border!” November 24, 2022, the number of detainees regarding “Izeh incident” reached 61, while in January 2023, Islamic Republic officials “identified 70 in relation to Izeh terrorist attack!”
According to Islamic Republic’s Judiciary News Agency, Mizan, Abbas (Mojahed) Kourkouri was sentenced to death on April 7, 2023. The documents and evidence used to issue the death sentence included: “The footage obtained from the surveillance cameras that show the accused was aiming his gun at people, the ballistic report, which implies that the accused fired a shot at late Kian Pirfalak, and the discovery of large quantities of guns, cartridges, and Molotov cocktail.” The death sentence was confirmed in Islamic Republic’s Supreme Court on December 24, 2023.
He was convicted of amalgamation of everything they could think of: “Muharebeh (waging war on God) by drawing weapons with the intention of killing people, intimidation and Efsad fil-Arz (corruption on earth) by committing crimes through shooting with combat weapons, disrupting public order and causing major damage to physical integrity resulting in the death of seven people including Kian Pirfalak, causing major damage to public and private property, forming a rebel group and becoming a member of it through an armed uprising against the regime.”
Mizan published a 5:48-video from a combination of several shorter clips which includes the claimed “CCTV footage” too. Ameneh-Sadat Zabihpour, the interrogator-reporter, narrates the Islamic Republic’s version of “Izeh terrorist attack.”
Zabihpour mentioned the first part of the clip to be November 15, 2022, the night before the mass shooting, trying to depict an “organized and pre-planned attack.” She tries to fool the audience by using the difference between Persian and Gregorian calendars. She says 24 Aban, while that would be Tuesday, November 15 and not the Bloody Wednesday, November 16, engraved on the top-left corner of the screen.
The time is shown as 15:50, but it is pitch black. According to sunset-sunrise times available online, on November 16, 2022, sun was set at 17:16.
The bottom-right corner shows the location: Baharan Park.
FarsNews, IRGC news agency, published the same video with the following description: “A video from terrorists in Izeh few hours before their crime!” It also provides a context: “The terrorists are the riders of the two motorcycles seen in the footage…In the terrorist attack in Izeh which happened on Wednesday evening, November 16, 2022, the two motorcycles riders opened fire on people and security forces which killed 7 and injured 8.”
When examining the said footage and the motorcycles, we see that they all have 2 riders, a formation always seen by repressive forces of the Islamic Republic.
In the first seconds of this clip, a man is seen firing in the air. The same man is seen later on, among those motorcycle groups. He even tries to shoot the CCTV cameras to cover up what was going on that night.
Among the motorcycle groups seen on the footage, at least 2 riders are seen with police/military uniform showing their ranks. One is seen here:
The other one is visible at 1:16 of the above video:
Let’s move on to other parts of the main video. One of the clips from the 5:48 was released by the IRGC-media and other Islamic Republic outlets on November 19, 2022. It has different versions. One version is 37 seconds longer, which could be found only on MehrNews. But others, including Mizan, Fars and Tasnim, have censored these 37 seconds. To find out why, let’s watch those moments:
The cameraman and a few of his comrades are talking to each other. They are located at Helal Ahmar intersection, in front of Telecommunication building, behind motorcycles and bushes. One of them describes everything:
-”Look, that car is coming. [A shot is fired] Look, he’s shooting.”
The cameraman: “Let me go and see.” He crosses the street to see everything up close.
He passes the shooter: “Hello Haji!” (a term used to describe an elder or commander in IRGC and Basij) and enters into a dark space, exclaiming: “Oh God. What is this?!”
This video was shot at Helal Ahmar Intersection as TasnimNews admits. The IRGC-Intelligence media also confirms that Islamic Republic forces were deployed there “to disperse possible protests” and claims “they didn’t have any weapon on them.” The same report asserts that around 17:00 sound of gunshots “was heard by these forces.”
But as we see and hear in the videos released by the IRGC media, Islamic Republic forces were armed and shooting with pellets and live ammo during the entire ordeal on November 16, 2022.
Now, we can confirm the two clips that Islamic Republic Judiciary and IRGC-media have tried to connect to each other, are actually from two different parts of the city, 0.62miles (1km) apart, to be exact.
Listening to more of the same clip from MehrNews, indicate the Islamic Republic forces couldn’t wait to shoot live ammo, ordering guns and Kalashnikovs, many gunshots could be heard,…
Former Izeh representative at the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Hojattollah Darvishpour, gives us more information about Pirfalaks’ home and the events leading up to their car being shot several times:
Pirfalaks’ home was on Abdulmajid Kiani St, off South Hafez, few blocks from Helal Ahmar intersection, giving us a better understanding of everybody’s location:
In the rest of that clip from MehrNews, somebody wearing Basij uniform comes from the other side of the street to where the cameraman and others are standing. He is asked if he had brought any Kalashnikovs! He admits live ammo is being used and several of “the other side” have been hit.
Another voice, from someone who sounds like a commander, shouts: “Why are you all gathered here?! If you’re out of bullets, go to musalla (big mosque)!”
To see where musalla is in relations to the cameraman’s and shooter’s location, let’s take a look at the map:
Islamic Republic has always been using schools, mosques, ambulances,… as bases for its repressive forces. That day was no different, musalla was the base for armed repressive forces shooting at people and killing innocents, inducing children.
Abbas (Mojahed) Kourkouri was arrested more than a month after that night, on December 20, 2022, far away from Izeh. All the evidence provided by the Islamic Republic to justify his execution has backfired and prove regime repressive forces shot and killed at least 7 people, including Kian and 2 other minors.
Amnesty International has investigated Mojahed’s arrest and his imprisonment condition: During his arrest, he was shot in the knee and had grenade shrapnel in his arm. He was taken to hospital but before rendering medical help, he was forced to “confess.” He then was taken for interrogation. He has been held in solitary confinement for months, deprived of family visitation, his chosen attorney and medical care.
Abbas (Mojahed) Kourkouri’s death sentence has been confirmed by the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Court. His appeal to the ruling was rejected, too. According to his sister, Negar, his sentence was sent to be carried out. He is at imminent risk of execution.
Islamic Republic did not stop there and arrested Mojahed’s sister, Rana Kourkouri. She was taken to an unknown location on July 4, 2024. There is no news of her whereabouts, the organization arresting her or her condition.
Foad Choubin, uncle of Artin Rahmani, who was also detained in the same block as Mojahed, tweeted: “In the past year, not only Mojahed Kourkour has been in solitary confinement of Sheyban Prison [in Ahvaz] for more than a year, but according to himself, he’s been through ‘pretend-execution’ several times… Mojahed Kourkour in recent days, after hearing about his execution sentence, asked other inmates to forgive him and gave his clothes to others. Mojahed’s only hope, is us!”
