Maryam Aslani, Somayeh Tavakkoli, and Mehdi Tavakkoli were killed in state killing, after being directly targeted in an arbitrary shooting carried out by intelligence forces of the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the Marivan-Baneh road.
Maryam Aslani, her daughter Somayeh Tavakkoli, and her son Mehdi Tavakkoli were killed when IRGC intelligence forces opened direct fire on their vehicle. Mehdi Tavakkoli was a cultural and artistic activist, director of the Kurdistan Photographers House, founder of the Chaw Art Center, and a former political prisoner. The three victims were later buried in Sanandaj under heavy security measures.
On the afternoon of Sunday, July 26, 2026, IRGC intelligence forces opened sustained fire on Mehdi Tavakkoli’s vehicle on the road connecting Marivan and Baneh, two cities in Kurdistan Province.
Mehdi Tavakkoli was killed after being struck by three bullets, Maryam Aslani was killed after being hit by two bullets, and Somayeh Tavakkoli died after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.
Following the shooting, the victims’ bodies were transferred first to Salah al-Din Ayyubi Hospital in Baneh and were later moved to Sanandaj under the supervision of IRGC intelligence forces. Their funeral took place on Monday, July 27, 2026, at Behesht-e Mohammadi Cemetery in Sanandaj amid a heavy security presence.
Iranian security forces pressured the Tavakkoli family not to publicize the incident and to describe the deaths as the result of a traffic accident.
