Strength They Could Not Break: How 24-Year-Old Fitness Trainer Saba “Venus” Negahban Was Silenced in Tehran

Known to her friends and students as "Venus," 24-year-old fitness trainer Saba Negahban spent her life empowering women in gyms across northern Tehran. On January 9, 2026, during nationwide protests on Andarzgoo Boulevard, state security forces shot her in the back and executed her at point-blank range as she lay wounded on the pavement.