Mona Bakhtiyari, sister of the late Pouya Bakhtiyari, one of the victims of the November 2019 protests, has announced that her mother, Nahid Shirpisheh, has attempted suicide in prison.
In a post on her X account, she wrote:
"Today, after three weeks of no news from my mother, we found out that she attempted suicide in prison last Tuesday and was transferred to solitary confinement."
The Bakhtiyari family had repeatedly warned about the inhumane conditions and mistreatment of Nahid Shirpisheh in Zanjan prison. Mona Bakhtiyari added:
"My mother can no longer endure prison, and her life is in danger. We demand her immediate release. The Islamic Republic will be responsible for anything that happens to her."
After her son Pouya Bakhtiyari was killed by security forces during the 2019 protests, Nahid Shirpisheh was continuously harassed, detained, and summoned by security agencies. Last year, she was arrested alongside a group of grieving families seeking justice. While many of the detainees were later released, the Revolutionary Court of Karaj sentenced her to five years in prison.
A few months later, on November 1, 2022, just before the third anniversary of her son’s death, security forces forcibly transferred her from Kachouii Prison in Karaj to Zanjan Central Prison, where she has been held in exile-like conditions ever since.
This is not the first time reports have emerged about threats to her life in prison. In July last year, Mona Bakhtiyari had already warned about an assassination attempt against her mother. Now, after her suicide attempt, concerns about her well-being and safety have escalated even further.
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