Mother Zari Nasiri(Mother Reyahi)
Mother Zari Riahi, Mother Reyahi, mother of Nooreddin Reyahi, was a member of the large Khavaran Mothers’ family. She, as a mother whose son Nooreddin Riahi and her daughter-in-law Tahereh Seyed Ahmadi were executed by the Islamic Republic, died in Tehran after a lot of pain and suffering their loss, on 11 Shahrivar 1391 (01 September 2012). Nooreddin Reyahi, the son of this mother, together with his wife Tahereh Seyed Ahmadi, were executed by the firing squad in Evin Prison after a short period of time in the 1360s (1980s).
Mother Reyahi, with years of pain and suffering, lived in front of the prison doors both at the time of the Shah and the Islamic Republic. However, after the execution of her two loved ones, she always and in most difficult conditions held their memorial ceremonies; in the worst years of the 1360 (1980s) she played hostess to other families who had lost their members. The will of Nooreddin and Tahereh displayed on the wall of her house is a reminder of resistance and self-sacrifice of a generation of freedom-fighters whose outstanding feature is not only struggle against tyranny but also ceaseless defence of people, of prisoners cruelly executed by firing squad in the prisons of the Islamic Republic, without having the slightest chance of defending themselves. It has been stated in the will of Tahereh Seyed Ahmadi that: ‘In loving memory of my dear Noori who died two nights ago… always remember me and I ask my family to keep in touch with my husband’s family…’ Mother Reyahi always and in worst possible conditions remained faithful to those recommendations.
The life of Mother Reyahi was a manifestation of immortality of love of humanity. Neither the loss of her son Nooreddin nor of her other son Seifeddin who died as a result of sickness, nor her own sickness resulting from her old age, ever prevented her from pursuing the path of love of humanity.
Nooreddin Reyahi
He was born in 1348 (1969). He enrolled in the Tehran University’s Faculty of Economics in 1347 (1968) and immediately joined the student movements of those years. With the commencement of guerrilla movements, he became a member of the Fedayin Khalq Guerrilla Organization and continued his armed struggles against the Pahlavi regime and the capitalist system. Before long, however, he was captured in the summer of 1350 (1971) and was condemned to ten years of imprisonment by the so-called courts of the Shah’s regime.
He was released in 1357 (1978) together with hundreds of other political prisoners.
Nooreddin married Tahereh Seyed Ahmadi in the spring of 1361 (1982). However, four months after the marriage, the couple were arrested simultaneously in Shahrivar 1361 (Aug.-Sep. 1982) and were tortured in Evin Prison in extreme conditions. The Islamic Republic executed him by firing squad at the age of 35 years on 04 Bahman 1362 (24 Jan. 1984). Nooreddin Riahi was one of the founders of Sazman-e Kargaran-e Enghelabi Iran (Rah-e Kargar) (Revolutionary Workers’ Organization of Iran) (Workers’ Way) and was a member of its Central Committee at the time of his arrest and execution. The Islamic regime secretly buried him and his wife in Khavaran without the knowledge of their family.
Tahereh Seyed Ahmadi
She was born in 1336 (1957) in a labourer family. She studied in the field of nursing. Initially she engaged in organizational activities with the “Sazman-e Razmandegan” (Freedom-fighters’ Organization) and thereafter joined the Rah-e Kargar (Workers’ Way).
Family status: Married
Father’s name: Mahmoud
Occupation: Behyar (Assistant Nurse)
Date of arrest: Shahrivar 1361 (Aug.-Sep. 1982)
Place of arrest: Tehran
Date of execution: 6 Ordibehesht 1362 (26 April 1983)
Place of execution: Evin Prison
Place of burial: Khavaran
Texted: June 2014/Translated February 2021