Diana Bahadori on her motorcycle. She is said to have been shot dead during protests in Iran.Image: Screenshot Instagram
She appeared without a headscarf and riding a motorcycle. The death of Iranian influencer Diana Bahadori has now been announced.
01/29/2026, 10:2701/29/2026, 10:27
Thomas Wanhoff / t-online
An Iranian influencer and enthusiastic motorcyclist has apparently been shot by security forces of the mullahs’ regime during anti-government protests. Diana Bahadori was known as “Baby Rider” on Instagram and had more than 200,000 followers.
As the independent Iranian news site “Iranwire” reports, citing human rights organizations, the 19-year-old is said to have been killed by gunfire during protests in Gorgan, the capital of Golestan province, at the beginning of January.
According to the Hyrcani Human Rights organization, around midnight shot at her twice on January 8th have been. The young woman’s body was handed over to the family by the authorities two days later. State media claims she died in a traffic accident and that her real name is Shahrzad Mokhami.
A story was posted on the influencer’s Instagram account, which also claimed that the death was due to an accident. Followers were asked not to spread rumors. However, human rights group Hyrcani said the family made the statement under pressure from Iranian intelligence.
Openly violated the mullahs’ rules: Diana Bahadori.
Family Instagram post written under pressure?
A source close to Diana Bahadori’s family said, according to Iranwire, that authorities had only released the body under conditions. So the family had to have a secret funeral. The family should also publicly deny that they were killed by government forces.
Under the name “Baby Rider,” the young Iranian woman posted pictures and videos of herself riding a motorcycle, always without a headscarf. Both are forbidden to women in Iran. The last video of her showed her in a leather jacket, singing an Iranian song.