Mehrzad (Mahdi) Behrouz

Mehrzad (Mahdi) Behrouz (March 21, 2001 – October 9, 2022)

Mehrzad (Mahdi) Behrouz was a 21-year-old man from Khomam, near Rasht, in northern Iran. He had been sentenced to one year in prison and fined fifty million tomans on charges related to the production of alcoholic beverages. By October 2022, he had already served around ten months of his sentence in Lakan Prison and was expected to be released soon.
On October 9, 2022, during the height of Iran’s nationwide protests, tensions inside Lakan Prison escalated. According to reports from witnesses and former inmates, ordinary prisoners protested against the violent treatment of detained teenagers and the harsh conditions inside the prison. Security forces responded by storming the prison wards and firing tear gas into enclosed spaces. Thick smoke and tear gas quickly filled the corridors and cells, leaving many prisoners struggling to breathe. Some inmates reportedly tried to break doors open or reach the prison yard in order to escape suffocation.
That day, Mehrzad was working in the prison quarantine section, performing cleaning duties. According to several accounts, he attempted to open the financial ward doors for prisoners who wanted to support the detained teenage protesters. During the chaos, security forces opened fire on inmates. Reports state that Mehrzad was shot from behind by four live bullets: two struck his head, one hit his hand, and another hit his lower back. He died at the scene.
Witnesses also reported that after the shooting, security forces attacked prisoners with batons. Although the official forensic report reportedly listed the cause of death as “impact with a hard object,” relatives and witnesses described severe injuries on his body, including bruising to his face and major trauma to his chest.
The violence reportedly began in the late afternoon, but emergency medical assistance was delayed for many hours. According to witnesses, ambulances did not arrive until long after midnight, when it was already too late for many of the wounded. Alongside Mehrzad Behrouz, the names of Aref Ashouri, Mehrgan Zahmatkesh, Mehran Abbaspour Aghdam, Milan Derakhshan, Mohammad Anoosheh-Nia, Mostafa Yeganeh, and Meysam Padidar have also been mentioned among those killed, although the exact number of victims remains unclear.
Six days later, on October 15, 2022, Mehrzad’s body was returned to his family. He was buried under the supervision of security agents in Rasht, the region where he was born and raised.
In the months that followed, reports emerged about unidentified graves allegedly connected to the victims of the Lakan Prison incident in Bagh-e Rezvan Cemetery and nearby villages. Local witnesses claimed that several victims were buried secretly at night under heavy security measures, and that some graves were later covered with cement. Since then, people have continued placing flowers on these graves, which for many have become symbols of mourning and remembrance for those who lost their lives that day.