Payam Babo Kuhestani

Payam Babo Kuhestani (Persian: پیام بابو کوهستانی), also recorded as Payam Kouhestani, was a 35-year-old Gilak man from Chalus in Mazandaran Province, where he ran a restaurant. He was married and the father of a young son, whom he had named Shahan.

On Thursday, 18 Dey 1404 (8 January 2026), during the nationwide protests in Chalus, he went out of his restaurant to help a wounded protester and bring him inside. According to memorial accounts, he was shot by security forces only seconds after stepping out, and the forces then stormed the place. Hengaw verified that he was killed by direct fire from government forces, and listed him among ten Gilak people killed across Gilan and Mazandaran. HRANA lists him among its confirmed victims in Chalus, and his name appears in the list of the dead published by the government in February 2026.

His wife later recalled that he was covered in blood when she held his pale face, and that he looked at her and said: "I leave Shahan to you. Take care of our son." Friends from Chalus who shared his photo said only that their city had lost many people that week.