Soda Akramifard was a 16-year-old first-year graphic design student at an art academy. She lived in Marlik, Malard, in the province of northern Tehran. And on Jan. 9 — when the Islamic Republic ordered the massacre of tens of thousands of unarmed anti-regime protesters — she was shot in the chest with live ammunition and killed by security forces positioned on a rooftop.
The bullet struck her heart, killing her instantly in her mother’s arms. That night, her body was taken from her mother at Shohadaye Salamat Hospital in Malard.
Four days after Soda was taken from the hospital, her family found her blood-soaked body at the Kahrizak Forensic Medical Center near Tehran, registered as number 12538 among many victims.
Soda (or Souda) was known for being cheerful and energetic. Despite her parents’ separation and hardship, she pursued her education with her mother’s support. She attended language classes and participated in kickboxing, gymnastics, dance, and fitness alongside her studies.
Her mother, Samira Eini, 38, recalled: “Soda was my only child. Without a father’s love, she was especially affectionate and deeply compassionate. She was extremely polite and respected by everyone.”
“Beginning in 2022, Soda became very interested in Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi,” said Eini. “She created many video clips and shared them on social media. After Mahsa Amini was killed, my daughter strongly wanted to take part in the street protests.”
Eini described herself as a devoted supporter of Reza Shah (1878–1944), the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty (which ruled Iran from 1925 to 1979), and the Pahlavi family.
“I, too, support the Pahlavi family,” she said. “Because I posted related content on Instagram, one of my pages was shut down. In November 2019, I participated in street protests without fear.”
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Eini divorced Soda’s father in 2013 due to his addiction.
“Despite efforts to treat him, he never stopped. For Soda’s sake, I raised her alone, bringing her with me to work cleaning homes and stairwells,” Eini explained.
“I raised Soda in hardship,” said the teenager’s mother. “I sold cosmetics door-to-door and worked as a saleswoman at Iran Mall, while Soda stayed with the family. Soda both studied and worked.”
“She would say, ‘Mom, I want to rise to the very top and repay all your hard work,’” Eini recalled.
Eini recounted that during the first days of nationwide strikes and protests, she and Soda went together to Fardis in Karaj, the capital of the northern province of Alborz, and joined demonstrators there.
“On Tuesday, Jan. 6, we were in Fardis with Soda, my cousin, and several others. Members of the Basij forces surrounded us, photographed us, and identified us. On Jan. 7, because we had been identified in Fardis the previous day, Soda, my two sisters, my brother-in-law, and I went to Marlik on Parnian Street.”
“On Jan. 8, when Prince Reza Pahlavi issued a call for protests, the area became extremely crowded. There was gunfire, pellet shots, and tear gas everywhere. Young and old alike had come out. Even those who remained inside their homes were chanting slogans.”
Fighting back the tears, Eini added, “It was as if Soda somehow sensed she would leave us. On the night of Jan. 9, before going out, she gave me her earrings and her mobile phone and said, ‘I might not come back.’”
“She hugged her grandmother and said, ‘Grandma dear, goodbye. I may not return.’”
Eini recounted the night of Jan. 9 in detail.
“Between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. that night, my brother-in-law was shot first. He was ahead of us, and no one had seen him. Soda was standing on top of a trash can and saw that he had been shot. She went to help him. Later, he said, ‘Only Soda saw that I was hit. She came to me, and I told her to inform the others.’”
“Soda was on her way back when she was shot from above, from a rooftop. The bullet hit her heart, and she fell. In that instant, she died in my arms,” Eini said.
“We took her to a local clinic, but it was closed. Then we brought her home because I believed she had only been struck by pellets and might have fainted from fear. She had died immediately, but I could not accept it. Her eyes were still open, yet her body had grown cold, and blood was coming from her nose and mouth,” Soda’s mother said.
“All communication lines had been cut. We used my sister’s car to take her to Shohadaye Salamat Hospital in Malard, because I still believed she might be alive. At the hospital, they took her body from us and said the prosecutor had arrived and that all those who had been shot were being removed.”
Four days after Soda’s death, the family found her body — numbered 12538 — among thousands of others in Kahrizak.
Describing the scene in the makeshift morgue, Eini said: “She was lying on the ground inside a thin cloth shroud. Her entire body, including her head and face, was covered in blood. Bodies were piled on top of one another. We had to examine each one until we finally found her.”
According to Eini, the warehouses at Kahrizak were overflowing with corpses.
“So many bodies were inside the sheds that others were laid outside on the ground. All had been shot in the head, heart, or throat. From that shed, they transferred her body to Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery in Tehran. For three hours, we lost track of her because they had moved her from Kahrizak to the cemetery.”
When officials finally handed her body over, they told the family: “A terrorist killed her — we did not kill her.”
Eini said she agreed outwardly, just to secure the release of her daughter’s body. Authorities then demanded 1.5 billion tomans (approximately $9,000). When she said she could not pay, they lowered the demand to 700 million tomans (about $4,200).
Relatives and acquaintances pooled their money together, and her uncle ultimately paid the amount.
“At the cemetery, officials harassed me intensely. They insisted that Soda be buried in a remote rural area in Safadasht. After much pleading with the prosecutor, they allowed her to be buried in my brother’s three-tier grave,” Eini explained.
“At first, they refused, saying she could not be buried next to her uncle — only beside her father, mother, or brother. I asked them, ‘Is my brother somehow unlawful to her? You have killed my daughter, and as her mother, I consent to her burial next to my brother.’”
Eini also said that although Soda had been killed on Jan. 9, the forensic office recorded Jan. 8 as the date of death on the certificate. When she objected, officials told her it was the forensic authorities’ official determination.
“They washed her bloodied body at Behesht-e Zahra. No matter how much I insisted, they did not allow me to see her. They only permitted me to view her face for identification, and I observed bruising and discoloration on her head, neck, and face.”
After the burial, security officers ordered mourners to disperse immediately.
“It was raining, and I covered her grave with plastic sheeting, but they kept pulling it off. After much conflict over placing a gravestone, they would not allow me to include Soda’s photograph.”
“Three days after the burial, they repeatedly called me, saying they wanted to come to my home to offer condolences. I told them they could do so by phone — I did not want their condolences. They intended to film me and force me to say on camera that terrorists had killed my daughter. I told them I was out of town because they called daily.”
Eventually, under pressure and threats against her family, Eini said she was compelled to report to the Malard Intelligence and Security Office.
“They told me I had to record a voice message or give an interview stating that terrorists or the people had killed my daughter.”
“I told them, ‘I came here on my own two feet. Even if you kill me, I will not say that. I am one of the people. Why would I say such a thing?’ No matter what they did, I refused.”
She said officials warned her not to associate with families of those killed in 2019 and 2022 and not to inform foreign media of their demands. They required her to sign a written pledge promising to appear and speak after the 40th day memorial.
“They threatened us, saying Soda’s photograph must not be displayed, that we must not engrave the words ‘Eternal Name’ on her gravestone, and that we must not hold a proper ceremony or applaud.”
When asked about the reaction of Soda’s classmates, Eini said: “Her friends held a memorial at school and spoke as though in Soda’s voice. But teachers and school administrators did not approve of any ceremony.”
“They pressured the students, stating that absence was not permitted and that attending school was mandatory over going to the 40th day memorial. Yet on the 40th day of Soda’s death, Jan. 19, all her friends and classmates came to her grave,” Eini said.
