An Iranian activist sews his mouth shut in protest following the suicide of another activist

Paris (AFP) – A prominent Iranian activist has sewn his mouth shut and is staging daily protests in Tehran following the apparent suicide of another activist last week, he wrote on social media on Thursday.

Released on: 21/11/2024 – 16:10

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Hossein Ronaghi said he sewed his mouth shut in protest against restrictions imposed by authorities last week for the funeral of Kianoosh Sanjari, who friends say committed suicide after warning he would take his own life if political prisoners were not released.

The death of 42-year-old Sanjari, who returned to Iran less than a decade ago after a stay in the United States, shocked the activist community, which accuses the Islamic republic of driving him to suicide after years of arrests and persecution.

Ronaghi, a widely followed defender of free speech, launched his campaign on November 16, the day he says authorities prevented friends and colleagues from attending Sanjari’s memorial service in Tehran.

Sanjari took his own life on the night of November 14-15, a few hours after publishing a tweet on X in which he warned that he would commit suicide if Iran did not release four prominent prisoners perceived by human rights organizations as political prisoners.

Ronaghi, who published photos of his mouth sewn together with blue string, said he would continue his action until the prisoners whose release Sanjari demanded were released.

He has organized isolated sit-in attacks in Tehran’s squares that have led to multiple arrests, but so far he has not been detained for more than a few hours.

“My decision is this: I will continue with my mouth sewn shut until Kianoosh’s wishes come true,” Ronaghi wrote on social media on Thursday.

“My action with my mouth sewn shut is a political protest and the responsibility for whether I am in prison, whether I get out of prison, whether you lock me up at home and prevent the occupation, lies with the Islamic Republic. “

Ronaghi also accused the security staff who arrested him earlier this week of using sexual violence and insults against him.

He said he felt increasingly weak and his mouth was “swollen and sore” after drinking only water, tea and injections of medications, including antibiotics.

His action comes as Iranian activists are still reeling from the crackdown on nationwide protests in 2022-2023 over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who was arrested for allegedly violating the compulsory dress code for women.

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