![[FILE] An Iranian woman without a mandatory headscarf, or hijab, walks in a street in Tehran, Iran, 15 September 2024, on the second anniversary of protests following Mahsa Amini's death. EFE-EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH](https://pre.efe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/rss-efe576dbc24eceeb922aabaa1b6afb97e1915c322e0w.jpg)
Tehran, Nov 14 (EFE).- Iranian activist and former journalist Kianoosh Sanjari has died by suicide, denouncing the “dictatorship of (Supreme Leader) Khamenei” in his final social media posts.
Before his death, Sanjari urged Iranians to “overcome slavery” on Wednesday and warned he would take his own life if four political prisoners were not freed.
“If Fateme Sepehari, Nasreen Shakrami, Tomaj Salehi and Arsham Rezaei are not released from prison by today 7 PM, Wednesday, November 23, 1403, 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 Khamenei and his allies.” Sanjari wrote on X.
But the authorities were apparently unmoved by his threat.
In a subsequent post that he titled as the “promise of loyalty,” Sanjari bid the adieu to the Iranians.
“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 wrote.
“I wish that one day Iranians will wake up and overcome slavery. Long live, Iran.”
Other activists, including Hossein Ronaghi and singer Mehdi Yarrahi, later confirmed Sanjari’s death on social media. “We did everything we could, last night and today, but Kianoosh is gone,” Ronaghi posted.
Iranian authorities have not commented on his death.
The prisoners Sanjari advocated were convicted following their participation in protests after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, who was detained for allegedly violating Iran’s Islamic dress code.
Sanjari left Iran in 2007 after enduring years of arrests and went into exile in the United States, working for media critical of the Islamic Republic.
He returned in 2016 when his mother fell ill, leading to his arrest and an 11-year prison sentence.
He was transferred to a psychiatric hospital in 2019, where he reported being tortured, including through electric shocks and forced restraints. EFE
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