Fatemeh Mousavi: Mother of a Family
Fatemeh Mousavi, approximately 50 years old, was killed in her own home while speaking with her daughter and husband about the strange sounds they were hearing from the bombing.
She was a retired employee of a private company. According to media reports, her lifeless body remained under the rubble for several days. It was only after the debris was cleared and DNA tests were conducted that her identity was confirmed — she was the mother of the family. In a news report about the death of the Mousavi family, it was written: “Bita,” the aunt of the family, rushed to the scene after receiving a call from her nephew, only to find the street cordoned off by security forces. Her desperate pleas to reach her loved ones eventually moved the officers, who allowed her to get closer to the site of the incident. For hours, Bita searched for answers, but no one could provide a clear explanation of what had happened to her family.
Eventually, one of the officers pulled her aside and delivered the devastating news: all three members of the Mousavi family had perished in the bombing. Overcome with grief, Bita spent hours frantically trying to locate their bodies. Which hospital? Which forensic center? It wasn’t until after 10 p.m. that she made her way to the Kahrizak forensic center, joined by the only surviving member of her brother Saeed’s family and a few others. Upon arrival at the center, located on the Tehran–Qom highway, they found the doors locked, phones unanswered, and several other families waiting in anguish behind closed gates. Seeing the growing desperation and rising cries of grief among the crowd, a staff member finally came forward. After taking their information, he confirmed what they had feared: the three members of the Mousavi family had indeed been transferred to Kahrizak.
There is a photo of Fatemeh in which, like many Iranian mothers, a deep kindness and care can be seen in her eyes—eyes that are now closed forever. Fatemeh, along with her daughter and husband, was killed in the bombing.
