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Iranwire – Mohammad Hossein was shot by Islamic Republic forces while he was walking home from the gym.
Sixteen-year-old Mohammad Hossein Parnoun was killed by government forces during the protests on Thursday, January 8. Boxing – and his place on the junior national team – was at the center of his life.
He was a son of Khorramabad, in Lorestan. At sixteen, he was still dreaming – imagining a future where he would rise to the senior national team and one day become a champion for Iran, and beyond.
Khorramabad, the capital of Lorestan province, is home to the Lur people – one of Iran’s major ethnic groups, known for their history of resistance. During the January protests, Lorestan saw some of the most intense uprisings. The Lurs have a distinct language and culture, and unrest in ethnic minority regions is often met by the state with harsher, more lethal force.
The reality was brutally distant from Mohammad Hossein’s dreams – and from the dreams of dozens of other children under 18 killed in the protests. That distance was no more than a single gunshot, created by a government agent’s choice to kill a child in the name of money or ideology.
Mohammad Hossein trained day and night at the Shaqayeq sports club in Khorramabad. Reaching the junior national team was no easy feat, but it was his dreams that turned effort into reality.
On Thursday, January 8 – the first night of nationwide protest calls – Mohammad Hossein went to training as usual. From 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., he punched bags and sparred. When the gym closed, he headed home. He never made it.
According to a relative who spoke with IranWire, as the young athlete was walking home and passing through a protest area, a government agent opened fire on protesters, shooting indiscriminately.
The government agents’ live ammunition struck Mohammad Hossein in both of his thighs. He fell to the ground, bled out, and likely died there.
Security forces often claim they fire at people’s legs to “disperse” crowds without killing. In reality, bullets to the thigh frequently hit the femoral artery. Without immediate medical care – nearly impossible during a street crackdown – the victim bleeds to death within minutes. For a 16-year-old, it means dying slowly on the pavement.
His family, unaware of the chaos Mohammad Hossein was enduring, sat waiting for him to return. They eventually found his body in the Khorramabad morgue. They were given the runaround for three days before they were finally allowed to collect him. No “bullet money” was taken from the family this time.
Mohammad Hossein was buried on Sunday, January 11, at the Sarab-e Yas cemetery in Khorramabad, where a hejreh (memorial shrine) was erected for him.
A hejreh is a traditional structure, made of wood or metal, placed in public or at the grave of a young person who dies unmarried. Lit with candles and decorated like a wedding room, it stands as a quiet protest – marking a life taken before it ever had the chance to begin.
Mohammad Hossein lived with his family in the Kio neighborhood. He was not just an athlete; he also worked as a construction laborer to help support his family. He was an apprentice to a master builder.
At his memorial, a table of mourning was laid. Beside his photograph, his championship belts and trophies were placed. The photos on the wall traced his life from childhood to his teenage years – sometimes posing for the camera, sometimes flexing his muscles with quiet pride.
During the January protests, dozens of children lost their lives to the weapons of Islamic Republic forces. As always, the regime has accepted no responsibility for these state-sanctioned killings of children.
The Coordinating Council of Iranian Educators’ Trade Unions has, as of the publication of this report, released the names and identities of at least 50 children killed in the protests. In their words: “50 empty seats on the school benches.”
This figure likely counts only children who were still in school. It leaves out children like Mohammad Hossein, who – because of economic hardship – had to juggle school with labor, or leave school altogether to work on construction sites. These children leave no empty “bench” behind, making their disappearance even easier to erase.
The full dimensions of the unprecedented suppression of protesters in January remain unclear due to internet blackouts. Countless victims across Iran remain nameless and without a trace.
