Neda Bayat, a young woman in Zanjan, decided to climb onto the car top of a street-patrol service vehicle during protests in her city on October 26, 2022. In this attempt, security officers violently dragged her off from the top the car and arrested her.
Nobody ever found out where the Iranian authorities had taken Neda, not even her family.
Following Neda Bayat’s disappearance, people in her city along with her family tried hard to uncover the truth about her detention. Finally, there was evidence that Neda Bayat was hospitalized at Imam Hossein Hospital in Zanjan. Still, the security forces were unwilling to provide any information about it. Neda Bayat was beaten at the Revolutionary Guards’ Detention Center in Zanjan. She suffered fractures to her body in several areas and internal bleeding. She was being watched over by state security even in hospital care. State security agents changed the lock to her hospital room so nobody could enter or leave. They had plans to remove her from the hospital to an unknown location.
The truth about Neda Bayat’s torture leaked and it became clear she was being held in critical physical condition at Imam Hossein Hospital. State forces then created a fake scenario aiming to disperse people’s attention from Neda Bayat.
On November 5, 2022, government forces broadcasted the forced confession of a woman named Azam Amandi on Zanjan’s TV network. She was made to say that she was the person who was standing on the car rooftop. She also said that the prosecutor’s office will be sentencing her.
The Iranian authorities managed to obliterate Neda Bayat’s name. They promoted this false confession so much that people started to believe Neda Bayat never existed. In respond to any question about the scene of protest in Zanjan, people would say it was Azam Amandi.
Neda Bayat’s family was severely pressured into keeping silent. Security forces warned them to not speak about their daughter.
Neda Bayat was kidnapped in one of Zanjan’s most crowded centers. Using Azam Amandi as a fake scenario, they forcibly tortured and murdered Neda.
Iranian authorities enforce disappearances on protesters in Iran to physically destroy them. This is a well-known method and used to kill Neda Bayat. This young protesting woman was killed under torture simply for removing her hijab.
The authorities responsible for her death must be held accountable.
State forces buried Neda Bayat’s body in Armaghankhaneh, 30 kilometers away from Zanjan’s city center. Neda’s family had not agreed with this procedure. The similar case to the killing of Nika Shahkarami.
