Iran activist kills himself after demanding release of prisoners

Human rights campaigners say an Iranian activist killed himself hours after warning he would do so if four inmates seen to be political prisoners were not freed.

Kianoosh Sanjari, an opponent of the Islamic Republic’s clerical authorities, warned in a message on X late yesterday that he would take his own life if the release of the two men and two women did not take place.

He then killed himself, according to multiple rights campaigners and organizations.

The formal announcement of his death, which is swiftly published by families in Iran when a relative dies, is also widely shared on social media.

Sanjari had demanded the release of veteran campaigner Fatemeh Sepehri, Nasreen Shakarami, the mother of a teenager killed during 2022 protests, rapper Tomaj Salehi and civil rights activist Arsham Rezaei.

“If they are not released from prison by 7:00 pm today, Wednesday, and the news of their release is not published on the judiciary news site, I will end my life in protest against the dictatorship of (supreme leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei and his accomplices,” he said.

He later added: “No one should be imprisoned for expressing their opinions. Protest is the right of every Iranian citizen.

“My life will end after this tweet but let’s not forget that we die and die for the love of life, not death,” he added.

It was not immediately clear how he killed himself. Sanjari had late Wednesday posted an image that appeared to have been taken looking down on the street from the upper floor of a Tehran tower block.

۷ شب، پل حافظ، چهارسو pic.twitter.com/xBXjJ5gFpF

— Kianoosh Sanjari (@Sanjaribaf) November 13, 2024