Death of Mohammad Reza Sarvari

Mohammad Reza Sarvari (; 3 September 2008-21 September 2022) was an Afghan teenager who was killed by Iranian authorities during the September 2022 Mahsa Amini protests in the city of Shahr-e Ray in Tehran Province, Iran. The Iranian government had released propaganda after his death, stating it was a suicide; but which disagreed with Sarvari's official burial certificate that was released by his lawyer.
Background
Mohammad Reza Sarvari was born on 3 September 2008 in Shahr-e Ray, Tehran, Iran. He was an Afghan refugee that was born and raised in Iran.
He had been fleeing during the September 2022 protests. Sarvari died at the age of 14 from cerebral hemorrhage, as a result of a gunshot in the back of the head by the Iranian security forces.
Exposing propaganda
On 7 October, the lawyer for Sarvari published online a copy of the child’s burial certificate, which listed the cause of death as “bleeding and shattered brain tissue” caused by “being hit with a fast-moving projectile”. The lawyer wrote that he felt obliged to share the official document given the propagation of false narratives by the authorities in state media and through statements by officials increasingly attributing the death of children killed by security forces to “suicide”.<ref name=":2" />
“The Iranian authorities are systematically harassing and intimidating victims’ families to hide the truth that they have the blood of children on their hands. These despicable methods further underline the scale and depravity of the Iranian authorities’ crackdown and provide further proof that all avenues for truth and justice are closed at the domestic level,” said Heba Morayef.<ref name=":1" />

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