Activist takes own life in protest at Iranian regime
A prominent Iranian human rights activist has taken his own life in protest against what he described as the dictatorship of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In a social media post, Kianoosh Sanjari stated that he would end his life if four political prisoners were not freed by 19:00 local time (15:30 GMT) on Wednesday.
His death was confirmed later that day by fellow activists.
In his final message, Sanjari expressed hope that “one day, Iranians” would “awaken and break free from slavery.”
A strong critic of Iran’s leadership and a defender of democratic rights, Sanjari had declared, “No one should be imprisoned for voicing their opinions.”
Earlier on Wednesday, he wrote: “If Fateme Sepehari, Nasreen Shakrami, Tomaj Salehi, and Arsham Rezaei are not released from prison by 19:00 today … I will end my life in protest against the dictatorship of Khamenei and his associates.”
All four were arrested for their support and involvement in the wave of unprecedented protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in 2022 after being detained by Iran’s morality police.
Sanjari was repeatedly arrested and imprisoned for his political activism between 1999 and 2007.
He left Iran in 2007 and received asylum in Norway, before joining US broadcaster Voice of America’s Persian service in Washington DC.
He returned to Iran in 2016 to be with his parents and was arrested and sentenced to 11 years imprisonment in Evin prison, where political prisoners are often imprisoned.
He was released on bail in 2019 on medical grounds, and subsequently taken to a psychiatric hospital.
He told local media he was given electric shocks, chained to a bed, and injected with substances.
“Kianoosh Sanjeri is not just a name, it is a symbol of years of pain, resistance, and struggle for freedom,” freedom of speech activist Hossein Ronaghi posted on X.
