Iranian protester takes own life months after prison release
Rasoul Bodaghi, a prominent former political prisoner arrested during the height of Iran’s 2022 protest movement, has reportedly taken his own life months after his release.
Rasoul Bodaghi, a prominent former political prisoner arrested during the height of Iran’s 2022 protest movement, has reportedly taken his own life months after his release.
Former political prisoner and rights activist Foad Choobin reported Bodaghi's suicide on his X account on Monday.
Human rights groups said his death followed a prolonged period of psychological trauma and abuse stemming from his imprisonment.
Bodaghi was arrested in his hometown of Izeh in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province — one of the epicenters of discontent following the death of a young woman, Mahsa 'Jina' Amini, in morality police custody.
Amini’s September 2022 death sparked the largest wave of anti-government protests in Iran since 2009. They were ultimately stamped out with deadly force.
Izeh was the site of some of the Islamic Republic’s most violent crackdowns. On November 16, 2022, Iranian security forces opened fire on protesters, killing at least seven people including 9-year-old Kian Pirfalak.
The boy's death became a symbol of the uprising and a rallying cry for demonstrators demanding justice and change.
'War against God'
Bodaghi was accused of participating in the protests and was imprisoned under charges that carry the death penalty in Iran, including corruption on earth and waging war against God (moharebeh). He spent 16 months in Sheyban Prison in Ahvaz, under the authority of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
According to Choobin, Bodaghi was subjected to physical and psychological torture, and was administered pills of unknown origin.
“Despite being detained for over sixteen months, Mr. Bodaghi remained in an uncertain legal state in Sheyban Prison," the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) quoted a source close to his family as saying in a report last year.
"He suffered from mental health issues and attempted suicide multiple times while in custody," the report said.
He was released in March 2024 under heavy bail conditions. But Choobin says the trauma and mental anguish persisted long after his release, ultimately leading to his death.
Shahin Milani, Executive Director of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, called for accountability in the wake of Bodaghi’s death.
“The circumstances of Mr. Bodaghi’s death, as well as those of several other protesters who died shortly after release, warrant a full investigation," Milani told Iran International, "Whether caused by psychological harm due to torture or administration of unknown substances to prisoners, the Islamic Republic’s role in the tragic deaths of former detainees should be fully determined."
While no official data exists on how many protesters have died by suicide, Iran Human Rights reports that at least 22 people — including four children and eight women — have died by suicide or under suspicious circumstances following their detention in connection with the Woman, Life, Freedom protests.
Among the most high-profile cases is Kianoosh Sanjari, a well-known journalist and human rights advocate who died by suicide on November 13, 2024. Sanjari, who had worked for Voice of America’s Farsi service, jumped from a building in Tehran after posting a message demanding the release of four political prisoners.
He had warned publicly that if they were not freed, he would end his life. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and VOA held the Iranian government accountable, citing years of harassment, torture and imprisonment as contributing factors in his death.
As the Islamic Republic stays keen to quash dissent and unrest, Bodaghi’s death adds to the growing list of individuals whose lives were lost not only in the streets but long after the protests were silenced.
