Abolfazl Adinehzadeh was born on June 17, 2005, in Mashhad, Iran. He was a 17-year-old student who, from the age of 14, also worked in mobile phone repair to help support his family. His mother, Goldasteh Hosseini, recounted that she would read the Quran for him before his birth and breastfeed him with ablution. Despite his family's desire to send him abroad, Abolfazl insisted on staying in his beloved homeland, wishing for prosperity there. He was known for his cheerful demeanor and for bringing smiles to others' faces, often working at the mobile repair shop until 10 PM after school.
Abolfazl's anger over the killing of Mahsa Amini, the harassment and suppression of protesting women in the streets, and the rampant corruption in the country motivated his participation in the 2022 nationwide uprising.
On October 8, 2022, Abolfazl participated in a protest in Mashhad instead of attending school. At approximately 11 AM, Islamic Republic agents first injured him with a taser to the neck, then shot him with more than 70 shotgun pellets in front of the northern gate of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. His severely injured and “torn” body was transferred to a hospital, where doctors removed 27 pellets. He died hours later. His death certificate stated that he died due to injuries from gunshot wounds to his kidney and liver. According to hospital doctors, he was shot from a distance of less than one meter.
Following his death, authorities pressured Abolfazl's family, threatening to release his body only if they claimed he was a “Basiji” (a member of the paramilitary Basij Resistance Force). Security forces also pressured his father, Ali Adinehzadeh, to remain silent and not publicize his son's killing. Abolfazl was buried in Najafabad, Faruj, North Khorasan. Plainclothes security agents were present at the funeral to prevent mourners from chanting, and some attendees were searched and forced to delete videos of the ceremony from their phones.
The harassment of Abolfazl's family continued. On June 16, 2023, his sister Marzieh, father Ali, and uncle Reza Adinehzadeh were arrested near his grave. On the same day, security forces raided the village where the family's relatives lived in Faruj, North Khorasan, arresting his mother, Goldasteh Hosseini, and all their relatives. The family members were later released on a bail of 2.5 billion Tomans. On June 27, 2023, the Islamic Republic opened a judicial case against Abolfazl's father and sister, charging them with “propaganda against the system.” On July 1, 2023, a similar case was filed against Khosrow Alikardi, the family's lawyer. Furthermore, on July 24, 2024, Ali Adinehzadeh was again arrested and imprisoned with a bail of 1.3 billion Tomans, before being released on September 6, 2024, after securing the bail.