Prominent Photographer is Shot Dead by Iranian Authorities

37-year-old photographer Mehdi Tavakoli was killed along with his mother and sister in an incident involving Iranian security forces on July 26.

A prominent photographer — who documented Iran for over two decades and mentored hundreds of other photographers — was shot dead by the country’s authorities.

37-year-old Mehdi Tavakoli well-known photographer based in Sanandaj, Iran, known for documenting Kurdish life, culture, and humanitarian issues. He photographed refugees fleeing the Islamic State (ISIS) and spent much of his career documenting social and humanitarian issues in the region. Because of his photographic activities, Tavakoli was summoned, arrested, and sentenced to prison multiple times by Iranian authorities in 2016, 2017, and 2022.

According to multiple reports, on the evening of Sunday, July 26, Tavakoli’s car was targeted by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces on the road between Marivan and Sanandaj in Iran. The IRGC forces opened fire on the moving vehicle without prior warning or a stop order while Tavakoli, his mother, and his sister were inside.

IranWire reports that Tavakoli died after being hit by two bullets, while his mother was killed by a single gunshot and his sister died after being shot directly in the face.

According to sources cited by IranWire following the incident, IRGC forces pressured Tavakoli’s family and relatives to publicly describe the deaths of the three family members as the result of a “car accident.” However, as of the publication of this report, the family and relatives of Mehdi Tavakoli have refused to accept those demands. Iranian authorities have not publicly explained the killings.

“The family remains under intense security pressure and has been threatened not to make any statements to the media or publicize the incident,” a source tells Middle Eastern news outlet Rudaw English, adding that Tavakoli had been summoned for more than five hours of questioning by Iran’s intelligence office just one week before the shooting.”

Tavakoli discovered photography at the age of 14 and spent his career documenting Kurdish life and humanitarian issues. In 2014, he spent three months photographing Kurdish refugees displaced by ISIS in northern Iraq and Syria. He later founded the “Chaw” art house and established the Kurdistan Photographers’ House in Sanandaj, where he mentored more than 300 photographers.

During his career, he participated in 20 group exhibitions and held eight solo exhibitions in cities like Toronto, Canada. His work and activism repeatedly brought him into conflict with Iranian authorities, who detained him several times, including during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests in 2022.

The news comes weeks after acclaimed Iranian documentary photographer Tahmineh Monzavi was sentenced to 74 lashes and a ban on artistic activities after taking a portrait of a singer with her hair uncovered.

Image creditsHeader photo via Rudaw English.