Benyamin Balochi

Benyamin Balochi was a 29-year-old young man from Neyshabur in Razavi Khorasan (some reports give his age as 28). He was wounded on 19 Dey 1404 (9 January 2026) during the nationwide protests in Neyshabur and died of his injuries three days later, on 22 Dey 1404 (12 January 2026).

According to published accounts, he was shot in the neck by the Islamic Republic's forces. The bullet severed his spinal cord, and he spent three days in hospital fighting for his life before he died.

After his death, his family was reportedly pressed to pay a heavy sum, described as a so-called "bullet fee" and reported as 300 million in Iranian currency, before his body was released to them.

Benyamin was a young man who should have been a groom. At his fortieth-day memorial, the people closest to him brought a groom's suit to his grave and released doves over it, holding a ceremony in the spirit of the wedding he never had.