Mother of slain protester attempts suicide in prison, her daughter says

Nahid Shirpisheh, an Iranian prisoner whose son Pouya Bakhtiari was killed during the 2019 protests, has attempted suicide in Zanjan Central Prison after enduring weeks of abuse and neglect, her daughter announced.

“Today, after three weeks without any news from my mother, we learned that she attempted suicide in prison on Tuesday and has since been transferred to solitary confinement instead of a hospital,” Mona Bakhtiari wrote Saturday on Instagram.

She also expressed concern for her mother’s life, demanding her immediate release and holding the Islamic Republic responsible for any harm that may come to her.

This comes just months after Mona Bakhtiari reported that her mother had been physically assaulted in prison.

In June, Mona said that Nahid Shirpisheh was beaten by inmates, either unauthorized or state-affiliated, with prison officials failing to intervene. She also highlighted a previous incident from 2022 when Shirpisheh faced violence shortly after being transferred to Zanjan prison.

Nahid Shirpisheh, who has been vocal in demanding justice for her son Pouya’s death at the hands of security forces during the 2019 Bloody November protests, has endured ongoing persecution.

She was sentenced to five years in prison by the Revolutionary Court of Karaj after being arrested during a wave of detentions in 2022 targeting the families of slain protesters.

Pouya’s father, Manouchehr Bakhtiari, was also sentenced to 18 years in prison and 74 lashes over his calls for accountability following his son’s death.

Additionally, this year he was sentenced to 13 months and 15 days in prison for 'spreading false information online', plus another 6 months for 'insulting the leader.'