Story
Neda Agha-Soltan was born on January 23, 1983, in Tehran, Iran, the middle child of a middle-class family. Her father was a civil servant, and her mother was a homemaker. The family resided in a fourth-floor flat on Meshkini Street in the Tehranpars district.
She attended Islamic Azad University, where she initially studied Islamic theology and secular philosophies. However, she withdrew after two semesters due to disagreements with her then-husband Amir and his family, as well as pressure from university authorities regarding her appearance and dress. After her divorce, she faced difficulties finding employment due to how employers perceived her.
Neda was an aspiring underground musician, taking private voice and music lessons. She played the violin and had a piano on order at the time of her death. She also worked for her family's travel agency. More than two months before her death, she met her fiancé, Caspian Makan, a photojournalist and filmmaker, in Turkey. This encounter inspired her to change her career path from a tour guide to pursuing photography with him. She enjoyed traveling and had studied Turkish, hoping it would assist her in guiding Iranian tourists in Turkey.
Those close to Neda stated that she had not been particularly political before the 2009 Iranian presidential election and did not support any specific candidate. However, the widespread anger over the election results prompted her to join the protests.
On June 20, 2009, around 6:30 p.m., Neda Agha-Soltan was in a Peugeot 206 with her music teacher, Hamid Panahi, on Kargar Avenue in Tehran. They were on their way to participate in the protests against the election results. Due to a malfunctioning air conditioner, she stopped the car some distance from the main protest area and got out to escape the heat and observe. While standing and watching the sporadic protests, she was fatally shot in the upper chest. Eyewitnesses, including Dr. Arash Hejazi, reported that she was shot by a Basij militiaman hiding on a rooftop, who had a clear shot at her heart. The impact of the gunshot was so severe that the bullet blasted inside her chest, and she died within minutes. Her last words, according to Panahi, were, I'm burning, I'm burning! She was pronounced dead en route to Tehran's Shariati hospital, though the civilian physician at the scene stated she died there.
The incident was captured on amateur video by bystanders and quickly spread across the internet, gaining international attention and becoming a powerful symbol for the opposition. The videos were awarded the George Polk Award for Videography in 2009. Neda's death sparked renewed protests against the disputed election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Following her death, Neda Agha-Soltan was buried at the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in southern Tehran, as government authorities denied her a proper funeral. Her family agreed to donate her organs for transplant. The Iranian government banned collective prayers in mosques for her, and her family was reportedly threatened if they allowed a gathering to mourn her. They were also forced to remove mourning banners from their home and later vacate their apartment. Her grave was desecrated by supporters of the Iranian regime in November and December 2009. Despite government attempts to suppress her memory and spread conspiracy theories about her killing, Neda Agha-Soltan became a widely recognized symbol of the 2009 Iranian election protests.