Advocates Demand ​“Justice For Roya”

Over two dozen New Haveners decamped to West Haven City Hall to celebrate the tragically short life of Roya Mohammadi — and to amp up pressure on police and public officials to take action around the sudden death of the 29-year-old Afghan immigrant and translator, whom advocates fear was a victim of domestic violence.

In front of West Haven City Hall at 355 Main St. on Monday afternoon, Mohammadi’s friends, coworkers, and fellow community members came together to demand a full and proper investigation of Mohammadi’s death in early March, when her body was found in the West River in West Haven. Those who knew her spoke candidly on Monday about how they suspect that she had been killed.

There were no public officials or representatives from the police department present at the gathering, and the West Haven police did not respond to multiple requests for comment by the publication time of this article.

“We are here to express the love that Roya had from her friends and family, and to denounce the blatant disregard of her case on behalf of police and public officials,” said Vanesa Suárez, a New Haven-based community organizer, immigrant rights advocate, and co-organizer for Monday’s gathering.

Mohammadi, a 29-year-old Afghan immigrant, translator, advocate, and academic, was reported missing by friends on March 2. Soon thereafter, her body was found in the West Haven River, with her cause of death determined as drowning in sub-freezing temperatures. 

According to police reports read by advocates on Monday, prior to her drowning, Mohammadi had filed several police reports against her uncle, whose family she lived with in West Haven. That has led her close friends and loved ones to believe that her death was not self-inflicted. (Her uncle could not be reached for comment for this article.)

Throughout various speeches during Monday’s gathering, Mohammadi was described as a passionate and determined individual who spread love and light to everyone she met. She was a translator for Havenly Treats — a community café on Temple Street in New Haveners that empowers refugee and immigrant women — helping women who don’t speak English and making it possible for them to participate in the organization. She had big dreams and loved to learn.

During the gathering, those in attendance made efforts to reflect Mohammadi’s spirit while advocating for her case to be thoroughly investigated. 

Advocates read aloud statements from three of Mohammadi’s siblings, who still reside in Afghanistan, celebrating her life and demanding action. Additionally, they read aloud two of the police reports Mohammadi had filed, which detailed allegedly violent and abusive encounters with her uncle, including one that led to her hospitalization. 

“We want justice for Roya Mohammadi,” said her sister, Kalida Mohammadi. ​“We want everyone to know that she had dreams that need to be fulfilled.”

Mohammadi touched the lives of many, including some who were present at Monday’s gathering. Her case has become a representation of how many cases of female deaths go insufficiently investigated, particularly when it comes to women and girls of color and immigrants, advocates argued.

“How many more sisters do we have to lose?” asked Suárez.

Attendees on Monday discussed how Mohammadi’s experiences relate to their own. The crowd, filled with fury at the unresponsiveness of public officials and the police department, gave declarations of support for Mohammadi and her family and friends. They promised to keep fighting for her case to be prioritized.

Amid signs written in English, Urdu, and Farsi, three of the four languages Mohammadi was fluent in, as well as cardboard depicting Mohammadi’s face, community members offered words of support for one another over the course of the rally.

“She was a member of our immigrant community,” said Javier Villantoro, a community member who stood in support of Mohammadi, her friends, and her family. ​“I didn’t know her personally, but I can relate to her. She came here simply to find a better life and education, and continues to suffer even after death at the hands of the state, who won’t take action.”

Villantoro expressed feeling a weight on his chest, shared with many at the gathering alongside him. Four women stood amongst the crowd and confessed how their hurt for Mohammadi is also a reflection of hurt for their own and many other women’s circumstances, who suffer from domestic violence and abuse daily and struggle to reach out for and receive help.

“Roya was me. She was my sister, my mother, my grandmother. We are all close to becoming Roya. She is every single one of us,” said Jen, another attendee on Monday.

Shouting ​“Justice for Roya” the dozens present said they will continue to fight for Mohammadi’s case to be evaluated more closely, and to achieve what they believe to be a fair closure for her family.