Cases & Campaigns

The Avalan Institute provides support to victims and families who have been impacted by the unjust criminal legal system in the U.S. We further support campaigns that fight for transparency and accountability in these cases. Two of our main campaigns are listed below. 

  • #WeAreBijan

    In November of 2017, Bijan Ghaisar, an unarmed Iranian American was shot by US Park Police officers in Northern Virgina after a minor fender-bender, in which he was the victim. Since then his family has been fighting for accountability and justice for the death of their son. The Avalan Institute has been supporting the family in their advocacy for justice.

  • Justice for Shayan

    In September of 2015, Shayan Mazroei, a young Iranian American in Orange County, CA was stabbed by a known white supremacist after the assailant and his girlfriend targetted him because of him name and the Persian tattoo that was visible on his arm. Over the years, the Avalan Institute has fought alongside the family to ensure that those responsible for Shayan’s death are brought to justice.

#WeAreBijan

On November 17, 2017, 25-year-old Iranian American Bijan Ghaisar was shot 9 times by U.S. Park Police in Fairfax County, VA. After suffering irreversible brain damage and being on life support for 10 days, Bijan died at the same hospital in which he was born. Bijan was the victim of a minor fender bender. After driving away from the incident, Bijan was pulled over by Park Police who approached his car with guns drawn. Bijan drove away from them several times before finally stopping in a residential area, at which point the officers shot at him 9 times, before he had a chance to roll down his window; they continued shooting even after Bijan’s car was rolling away from them into a ditch. 

Since Bijan’s murder, his family has been working to get answers, hold those responsible for his death accountable, and recieve some semblance of justice. The Avalan Institute has been proud to stand with the Ghaisar family in their efforts. We have worked to engage a diverse group of advocacy and civil rights organizations (including the NAACP, Mothers Against Police Brutality, and Amnesty International USA) as partners and support the family in placing pressure on elected officials and government personnel to do their job and provide justice to the Ghaisar family. Dr. Kasavi also serves on the newly formed board of the Bijan Ghaisar Foundation. To learn more, visit BijanGhaisarFoundation.org


Justice for Shayan Mazroei

On September 7, 2015 Shayan Mazroei, a 22-year-old student was stabbed an admitted white supremacist, outside of a local bar in Laguna Niguel, CA. Shayan later died of his wounds at the hospital. Earlier in the evening, the killer’s longtime girlfriend began hurling racial slurs and epithets at Shayan, calling him a “terrorist,” “Arab,” and “f—cking Iranian” before her boyfriend fatally stabbed Shayan in the chest, leaving him bleeding on the floor as he took off in a car driven by the his girlfriend. The killer has since been convicted of murder, and after years of advocacy by the Avalan Institute and other partners, his ex-girlgriend and accomplice was charged and is currently awaiting trial. 

The Avalan Institute has been supporting the Mazroei family in their fight for justice for the murder of their only son. Working closely with the family’s civil rights attorney, we have been get the support of a diverse group of advocacy and civil rights organizations (including the local NAACP, California Council on American Islamic Relations, and Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative), disseminate a petition calling on the Department of Justice to investigate this incident as a hate crime, and ganer national attention for the case via a mini documentary produced by Now This Reports in which Dr. Kasravi was featured as an advocate and expert. Learn more…