Nastaran Azimi was one of the 36 members of the PMOI/MEK who laid down their lives during an unequal confrontation in Ashraf, on April 8, 2011.
Nastaran Azimi was born in 1987 in Tehran. She was a second-year student of Computer Software at Tehran’s Azad University-Central Branch when she was arrested and imprisoned for her anti-government student activities.
Prison strengthened her resolve to continue her struggle against the regime.
In 2006, she found out about Ashraf, the hub of resistance against the regime. A subsequent visit to Ashraf completely changed her life.
Upon return to Iran, she was arrested and imprisoned again. After coming out on bail, she started arranging for another trip to Ashraf, this time for good.
Nastaran Azimi was always in the first line of people defending Ashraf during attacks. So was the case on April 8, 2011, when she was targeted by sharp shooters and lost her prolific life at the age of 26.
On April 8, 2011, the PMOI freedom fighters stood up to a column of ten armored, infantry, mechanized brigades and battalions of the Iraqi forces affiliated with Tehran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei. They attacked Ashraf City at the behest of the Iranian regime to massacre all of its defenseless residents, destroy the city and annihilate the opposition.
The freedom fighters were empty handed without any shields. Snipers targeted them in the head and chest. Armored vehicles ran over at least 22 people. Iraqi forces shelled the residential units. They did not even allow the wounded to be taken to hospital.
The shooting of heavy armored vehicles and snipers continued incessantly for six hours. The plan was to massacre all the residents of Ashraf.
180 people were shot directly. A number of hostages died in captivity. Some 300 people were wounded.
But Ashraf residents stood firm and prevented the enemy from taking over the city which was the beating heart of the Iranian people’s Resistance movement.
