World News begins with Samira’s account of the day her 16-year-old daughter, Sevda, was shot dead in front of her by Iranian security forces on 9 January. Samira says she is now seeking accountability after escaping Iran on foot and living abroad in hiding.
Samira says Sevda was her only child, and that she worked in sales in Iran and sold cosmetics. Samira says Sevda died during protests that had spread across Iran earlier this year, after huge demonstrations began on the outskirts of Tehran the previous month and grew into demands for an end to the Islamic Republic.
Tehran protests and Sevda
Samira says she and Sevda were among those taking part in the demonstrations. Samira says Sevda was inspired by Mahsa Amini and Nika Shakarami, and she remembers her daughter as someone who wanted to continue their path of resistance: “She kept them alive in her thoughts and always wanted to continue their path [of resistance],” Samira said.
Samira says the day before Sevda was killed, the numbers protesting were particularly high, and she and Sevda responded to a call by Reza Pahlavi for demonstrations. Samira says, “The security forces had lost control,” and says, “They lied so much in Iran… We couldn't imagine a massacre of that scale.”
Iranian embassy in London
Samira says the next day, on 9 January, Iranian security forces shot Sevda dead in front of her. She says the authorities then hindered her search for her daughter's body, turning grief into a search that she says never stopped at the burial. “I realised that finding Sevda wasn't the end, but just the beginning of all the harassment they put me through,” she said.
The Iranian embassy in London told Panorama that peaceful and legitimate protests had been hijacked by foreign powers, including the US. The embassy said foreign powers promoted violence, provided weapons and equipment, and compromised public security. Samira rejects that account and says she intends to name the members of the security forces and officials she believes were responsible for firing the fatal shots.
Samira in hiding
Samira says she escaped Iran on foot by navigating dangerous mountainous terrain and now lives abroad in hiding. She describes herself as “a one-woman army fighting the regime,” and says, “They'll bring me to the brink of death before they kill me, but finding me won't be easy… Return to normal life? There is no going back,”
That leaves the story with one live point of accountability: which members of the security forces Samira says fired the shots, and which officials she believes helped cover what happened after Sevda was killed. She says she will keep naming them, even after leaving Iran behind.
