Alireza Karimi

Alireza Karimi (May 2, 2001 – November 9, 2022)

Alireza Karimi was born on May 2, 2001, in Islamabad-e Gharb, Kermanshah Province, Iran. He grew up in a family devoted to education, as both of his parents were schoolteachers. From an early age, he was raised with the values of knowledge, responsibility, and compassion.
After completing his primary and secondary education in his hometown, Alireza enrolled at the Islamic Azad University of Arak in 2021, where he pursued a degree in Microbiology. He was known as a hardworking, ambitious, and hopeful student who dreamed of building a meaningful future through science.
In November 2022, following the death of Mehrshad Shahidi and the wave of nationwide protests that spread across Iran, demonstrations intensified in the city of Arak and at its universities. Like many other students, Alireza joined the protests on November 4, 2022.
According to his family, friends, and human rights reports, Alireza was brutally beaten by security forces during the crackdown. He suffered multiple baton strikes to the head, causing severe brain trauma. Despite his injuries, he managed to return to his student residence. Hours later, however, the severity of his wounds claimed his life.
His lifeless body was discovered by his elderly landlady. Blood was flowing from his ear, a sign of the fatal head injuries he had sustained.
On November 9, 2022, Alireza Karimi lost his life at the age of twenty.
Following his death, Iranian authorities announced that the cause of death was drug intoxication. This official account was strongly rejected by his family and those close to him, who insisted that he had died from the injuries inflicted during the protests. Reports also indicated that security agencies pressured the family to accept the official narrative or publicly state that Alireza had died by suicide.
The pressure did not end there. According to multiple reports, Alireza's parents were threatened with losing their jobs unless they remained silent. Authorities also refused to allow him to be buried in the family's ancestral cemetery at Imamzadeh Hassan. Instead, under heavy security and with only a limited number of relatives present, his body was buried on November 11, 2022, at Bagh-e Rezvan Cemetery in Islamabad-e Gharb.
Forty days after his death, on December 15, 2022, mourners gathered at his gravesite despite the heavy security presence. They honored his memory and commemorated his life, turning the ceremony into a symbol of remembrance for Alireza and many others who lost their lives during the protests.
Today, Alireza Karimi's name remains alive in the memory of many Iranians. He was a young man with dreams, determination, and hope for the future—a future that was taken from him at the age of twenty. Regardless of the conflicting official and independent accounts surrounding his death, his story has become part of the collective memory of the 2022 protests in Iran and stands as a reminder of a generation whose lives were forever changed by those events.