ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

JULY 8, 2026 15:05

Updated: JULY 8, 2026 17:12

Six months after the January 8-9 crackdown in Iran, where opposition-linked estimates and internal evidence put the death toll between 35,000 and 40,000, The Jerusalem Post presents profiles of victims drawn from family testimonies.

One of those remembered is Mani Yousefi, a 20-year-old from Tehran. His mother explains that he gave his life for the freedom of the nation he loved and for the future of his younger brother.

She recalls him as warm-hearted, funny, and deeply committed to the struggle for freedom in Iran.

Mani was a very warm-hearted and humorous young man who loved the cause of freedom above all else, she told the Post. In the end, he even gave his life for that freedom.

The night before his death, Mani joined friends in Khoramdasht in Karaj to help start protests there. His mother noted that public backing remained limited at the time. Before leaving, he stopped by her workplace to say goodbye.

When he came home, she said, he appeared deeply saddened.

Why are people not coming out so we can finally end this, he asked, according to his mother.

He did not know, she said, that the next evening he would be killed.

Authorities Deny Responsibility for Mani's Death

On January 8 around 9 p.m., Mani was shot dead. His mother said he was killed by two targeted shots, one to the heart and one to the pelvis.

To her, he became Javidnam, an immortal hero.

No authorities have accepted responsibility for his killing, his mother said. Later, the governments Martyrs Foundation, Bonyad-e Shahid, called her twice to offer condolences.

She rejected those calls.

Yes, they eventually returned the body of my beloved son to me, she told the Post. On the very first night, they had taken him to Behesht-e Sakineh Cemetery, after which we were able to hold his funeral.

Receiving his body brought no closure.

I can never and will never overcome this unbearable pain, she said. When Mani died, a part of me died with him; a large part of my own being was buried alongside him.

Mani's Brother Gives His Mother Strength to Continue

She said the only reason she keeps going is Mani's younger brother, Makan.

On the evening he was killed, Mani spoke about him.

I am ready to take a bullet to the head and die, as long as Makan can then have a good and free life, his mother recalled him saying.

For Mani's mother, justice is tied to the goal for which she says her son gave his life.

Justice will exist only when this regime has been overthrown, and our children achieve their goal - freedom, she said. That alone is what matters.

Her message to the world is that the names of Iran's dead must not fade into statistics.

The names of our immortal heroes must never be forgotten, she said. If we one day achieve freedom, we will all owe a debt to these immortal souls. They are gone so that we may live in freedom.