Hossein Taebi

Incident summary

On the night of 19 Dey, my brother, my sister, my daughters, and I went toward Hasht Behesht Intersection, near my mother's home on Arasteh Street. From the alley behind, we saw security forces firing directly at people. My brother told us, "Don't be afraid, but don't leave the alley. Just being here together is enough—we need to stand by each other." We stayed there for about half an hour until someone suddenly shouted, "The officers are coming!" We all ran. In the middle of the alley, a woman asked my brother, "Which way should we go so we don't get caught?" He replied, "Go out through this alley. The rest of the streets are open and lead to the main roads." That was the last time I saw him, the last words he spoke, and the last time I heard his voice. When we reached my mother's house, we waited for him. My girlfriend and I stayed outside until 11:30 p.m., but he never came. I didn't know how I could face my mother or what I should tell her. We finally went inside and waited until 12:30 a.m., but there was still no sign of him. My children and I then returned home. As we left, I noticed that Hasht Behesht Intersection was quiet and the streets had already been washed clean, as though nothing had happened. It shocked me, and I felt a terrible sense of anxiety. At around 1:00 a.m., when the phone lines were working again, we finally heard his phone ringing—but no one answered. We kept calling throughout the night and believed he had been arrested. For the next two days, my other brothers searched everywhere for him. Finally, someone told them to take his identification card to Bagh-e Rezvan. They went there and saw what no one should ever have to see. What should never have happened had happened. They identified him by his face. The following day, Thursday at 11:00 a.m., we went for the funeral. We were told it was so crowded that my brother's burial would not take place until 5:00 p.m. The atmosphere there was heartbreaking. After the ritual washing, they brought us my brother's body. His beautiful face looked like frozen moonlight. His eyes were still open, as though they were saying, "We left this cruel world with honor." Only then did the full height of his body become clear—he was 186 centimeters tall. To prevent large crowds, they wanted to take him to the grave by ambulance, but because the grave was very close, after much pleading they allowed us to carry him there on foot. It was already close to sunset, and they gave us almost no time to see him before the burial. Everything happened so quickly. My heart broke seeing that even the grave seemed too small for his tall body.