Friends of Kianoush Sanjari Demand Transparency and More Information

Warning: Contains content related to suicide. Nothing is more important than human life. If you are thinking about suicide, please contact these special numbers for help: In Iran: Social Emergency 123, Consultant Voice 1480, or Tehran Psychiatric Emergency 44508200. In the USA: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 18002738255, or National Crisis and Suicide Prevention Line 988. In Canada: 911 or 18334564566. In the UK: 116123 and in Afghanistan: 11. A group of 'Friends of Kianoush Sanjari,' a journalist, former Voice of America collaborator, and human rights activist, has released a statement providing explanations about his voluntary death, stating that he chose suicide as a political act to draw attention to the repression and restrictions in Iran. In this statement, the 'Friends of Kianoush Sanjari' have called for greater transparency regarding this matter and have requested that responsible institutions provide access to information related to this incident, including surveillance camera footage, police reports, and autopsy results for a more thorough investigation. The statement, which includes two images attributed to 'Kianoush Sanjari's suicide,' claims that he had been under pressure from the security institutions of the Islamic Republic in recent months and had been asked to travel abroad to collaborate with these institutions and inform on opposition forces; a request he reportedly rejected. According to this statement, in the final hours of his life, Kianoush Sanjari discussed with close friends the difficult decision he had made between life and death, and according to them, he acted with 'awareness.' Voice of America cannot independently confirm or deny the information presented in this statement. Kianoush Sanjari, a journalist and collaborator with Voice of America, a human rights activist and former political prisoner, ended his life on Wednesday, November 23, in protest against the conditions of political prisoners in the Islamic Republic. He had announced a day earlier that if the Islamic Republic did not release four political prisoners—Fatemeh Sepahri, Nasrin Shakeri, Tomaj Salehi, and Arasham Razai—within the next 24 hours, he would end his life in protest against 'the dictatorship of Ali Khamenei and his associates.' A gathering of a group of Iranians in Brussels was held in memory of Kianoush Sanjari and to protest the death sentences of the Ekbatan children. Ahmad Batebi: Kianoush Sanjari was under pressure from the security forces of the Islamic Republic until his last day. Hossein Ronaghi: The continuation of the Islamic Republic brings nothing but death and destruction. Reporters Without Borders: The government is responsible for Kianoush Sanjari's death. Exclusive: Eyewitness account of the violence of agents at Kianoush Sanjari's burial.