Ehsan Abedini: Dey uprising victim's brother and father also died

Ehsan Abedini, a 35-year-old protester of the Dey uprising, was killed by a live round fired into his back in Tehran's Sattarkhan neighbourhood on Thursday, 8 January 2026. Less than four months later, his brother and his father also died of cardiac arrest: a family that lost three members within four months.

According to people close to the family who spoke to Iran International, Danial Abedini, Ehsan's 23-year-old brother, suffered a heart attack and died on 20 January, twelve days after Ehsan was killed. Reza Abedini, the father, died of the same cause on 15 May 2026. People close to the family say the grief over Ehsan's death and pressure from security agencies on the family played a part in both deaths. The medical cause of these deaths has not been confirmed by any other source.

A week-long search for his body

Ehsan Abedini owned a restaurant in the same Sattarkhan neighbourhood and criticised the Islamic Republic on social media. One of his relatives says he joined the protesters out of concern for Iran's future.

His family searched for his body for about a week. In the end, a close friend identified him in a video said to have come from the phone of a security agent; the video shows the bloodied bodies of protesters in a street, with men whom sources close to the family describe as security forces standing beside them.

Buried far from Tehran

According to people close to the family, security officials did not allow Ehsan to be buried in Tehran, and his body was taken to Jasb, near Delijan in Markazi province. DIAR has previously reported on the fate of executed Dey uprising protesters and threats against families.

Less than four months after Ehsan was killed in the Dey uprising, the Abedini family also lost a second son and the father.