Life and death activism in Iran
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Hi there, I'm Azadeh Mashiri from the BBC World Service. This is The Global Story. Before we get started, I want to let you know that this episode does contain references to suicide.

These are the sounds of the women-led protests in Iran two years ago that received wall-to-wall coverage around the world. They were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. She was detained for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code that mandates women wear a hijab. The protests were met with a fierce crackdown.

Some of those that took part are on death row. Others have already been executed. Today, those mass protests have dissipated. But there are still individual acts of defiance that have been making headlines around the world recently and have even taken Iranians by surprise. Yet they've come at a tremendous cost. Today on The Global Story, those risking their freedom and their lives for change in Iran and what the future may hold for them.

With me is Param Qobadi from BBC's Persian service. Hi, Param. Thanks for having me again on the show. Param, I want to start by talking about this man. In this video from 2009, a young Kianush Sanjari tells us about his early life.

born and raised in Tehran, and growing up to study arts in high school. He was 27 when this video was filmed for the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre. A young man, hair spiked, dressed...

in a smart suit, telling us through the camera about the 10 times he'd already been arrested. In recent weeks, his name has become known around the world after he took his own life at the age of 42, apparently in protest against the Iranian regime.

Param, the trajectory of Qiyanoush's life started at a really early age, didn't it? He started protesting as a teenager when he was still in high school, all the way back in 1999. That's correct. I believe he was only 17 during the protest staged by Iranian students. That was one of the first iconic protests in Iran.

Thousands of students in Iran have taken to the streets in a pro-democracy protest. It was before all these, you know, recent protests that are nationwide or across the country. Iran has seen nothing like this for 20 years, since the Islamic revolution which overthrew the Shah. This time, the anger is against strict religious rule. The demands are for democracy and a free press. Back in the time, it was mostly Tehran students' university. So he was arrested during that time.

I can say that in those detention centers, people went hungry for two days. He was put in prison. After a couple of days, they transferred me and a couple of others with blindfolds to a distant location. But later on, he was released immediately.

He talked about the torture and mistreatment that he faced during his time in prison. I didn't know how they were going to treat me. They blindfolded me, they insulted me, they dragged me down the stairs. Then they sat me on a chair and started asking me questions. What newspaper do you read?

"Who are your friends? How did you go to that gathering?" And I just started crying because I was really scared and terrified. And I didn't know what to think of the treatment of this person who had peacefully participated in a demonstration and had no weapons or guns.

One of the really disturbing parts of this story is the use of psychiatric institutions by the regime. Yeah, so I think he was one of the very few people who spoke out about that. He actually talked to BBC Persian about that. He gave us an interview and he said what he went through and that he definitely did not need psychiatric help. So that was a systematic change.

kind of, as he put it, tortured. Morning, noon and night, they gave me medicines. In each occasion, they gave me five pills at a time. So I wouldn't take them. I would spit them out.

Iranian prisoners, not only him, say that they put Iranian prisoners into psychiatric hospitals, they give them medications. And in many cases, human rights activists believe that it later on causes severe depression and in some cases suicide. So he was one of the first few people who spoke out about that. And he said that that kind of changed his entire life. This is a kind of pattern that we've seen a lot in Iran, that

Protesters, dissidents, they're put into psychiatric hospitals. They come out with severe depressions and in some cases it leads to suicide. And so he talked about this, about the fact that he felt that at such a young age, again pausing on the fact that he went to prison for the first time, an adult prison when he was 17 years old, that he felt he was marked, that there was irreversible damage, in his words, to his body and his soul.

And so he left. What happened? Where did he go? So he went to the United States. And one of the first actually Persian speaking media outlet outside the country was Voice of America, even before BBC Persian as a TV starts working. So he joined Voice of America. I remember him covering the human rights issues in Iran extensively. I think that if in 1978...

When he was in America, did he gain prominence amongst the Iranian community? Yeah, he had a lot of friends. He had a lot of friends who also they were, you know, quite famous at the time and still are because some of them are famous journalists. So he had a lot of friends. If I'm not mistaken, once or twice he moved back to the United States. However, from what we hear from his friends, he did not manage to establish a life there. And

And it was very difficult for him to find a job. And what he says that he kept missing Iran. Parham, all of this, it's a reminder of how few viable options Iranian dissidents have. It isn't just about getting out of the country. Qanoush did get out. He made it all the way to America even, but he struggled financially, had difficulty making a living.

and had left his family back in Iran. So what did he do? Yeah, so after a few years of working for Voice of America, some of his friends say that because of his mother's deteriorating health issues, he traveled back to

We don't know the exact reason, but he said time and again that he loved Iran. He wanted to stay in Iran. He was a citizen of Iran. Even if he has got disagreements with the government or with the regime, he should be able to live in that country. However, after he returns to Iran, he's arrested. He's once again put into psychiatric hospitals.

And he went back to prison a few times. And so he goes back to Iran. He leaves the United States where he is safe. He goes back to a country that put him in prison as a teenager. Why did he go back? Did he, in your view, underestimate how much of a threat the regime would see him as? Yeah.

It's really difficult to say, but even after he went back to Iran, after he was put in prison and psychiatric hospitals, what he said was that it's because of the love of his country. He was an extremely polite, courteous person, regardless of his political affiliation and things like that. He was a kind of person who was willing to have a conversation with his political opponents.

with respect. But it was really not easy for him to live in Iran. I mean, according to his Twitter posts, once he wanted to sell his Twitter account for some money because he needed desperately, he needed some money. He once even said that he wants to sell his kidney. And the other time he posted a video of himself working as a laborer, moving really heavy, like unloading and loading off like a truck.

And, you know, he's a prominent journalist. He was an activist. And not that there's an issue with that kind of work, but it was showing that how desperate he was. And he couldn't find the job that he wanted because with his status and his record, he wouldn't be able to get a job in an Iranian newspaper that easily. Plus, his political affiliation was that he was a Pahlavi supporter of the crown prince of Iran.

So that is also an issue in Iran. If you want to work, for example, for a newspaper. Because, of course, the regime in Iran sees anyone who is a monarchist as a real threat. That's not something that they take lightly, a return to what existed before the regime. Exactly.

So we're talking about a man who has spent years in prison at the time, who's been through what he's called psychological torture, tormented during his time in prison. He made it out to safety but found life was too difficult outside of Iran. And so then we have a prominent activist who comes back, is still struggling, can't feel at home anywhere. Where does this story end? What led to his death?

So he posted a tweet and he gave an ultimatum to the regime and he named four political prisoners. One of them is Niko Shahkarami's mother, Naskrin Shahkarami, who is a very famous teenage Iranian protester who was killed during the Women Live Freedom protest. She was only 16 years of age. And she was the first woman to be killed in the war.

and her body disappeared for 10 days. After 10 days, they managed to recover. Her mother was in prison. So one of the conditions he had, he said, I give you a 24-hour ultimatum. You have to release Nika Shah Karami's mother, Nasreen, and you have to release Tumajus Salehi, a very famous Iranian rapper who was in prison. Formerly, they sentenced him to death and two other Iranian political prisoners.

And that ultimatum, it was that if they didn't release them, he would take his own life. How did people respond to those tweets? Some people got worried. Many people started saying that this is not the right way of doing it. But only a handful of people went to see him actually in Tehran.

So one of them was Hossein Rouanaghi, who is a very famous Iranian political activist. He went to dissuade him from doing this. Another one is a very famous Iranian documentary filmmaker, Olyam Motalebzadeh, who is suffering from cancer. Despite her conditions, she went to see him and to dissuade him. So people were aware of the suffering, the pressures he was under, and they were trying to prevent this from happening.

Yes, but not, again, a lot of people. So at the end of the day, two people managed to get hold of him and go and visit him. What these people say is that at the end, a psychologist, a therapist, who we are not sure if she was just a friend or his therapist, she wanted to stay with him. So these two people leave and he kind of persuades her that, OK, I changed my mind. I'm not going to do this.

He immediately walks up a shopping mall and takes his own life. And so he takes his own life in a very public way. And it really shocked Iranians. There was a memorial a few days after his death with music. But the burial, Param, the actual funeral, it faced real obstacles.

Yes. So they said that what time he's going to be buried. But according to his brother's testimony, he was buried earlier than that. You know, they don't want protests to take place there. So what they did is that they managed to bury him earlier than expected. And then they dispersed the crowds. They didn't let that happen. And why?

And the public nature of this, this is also part of the reason this has caused such angst, such hurt and has gained so much attention amongst Iranians, isn't it? Because unfortunately, there are so many stories that are painful and tragic that come out of Iran. But the social media aspect of this, the public nature of it, it created a real shock, didn't it? It did. I mean, I was talking to Iranian friends, people inside Iran,

And some of them, they did not even know him. Some of them, they did not know him that well. So he was known among journalists, activists, those who are avid news followers. But some ordinary Iranians did not know him. But when they heard about the story, and it happened in Tehran's city center. So, you know, suicide, it happens. But this one was like a really...

unusual case, such a young, talented, skilled person takes his own life, and he puts some preconditions for the regime to abide by. So the whole thing, yeah, it moved a lot of Iranians. And you're touching on some of this. There was a lot of misinformation that circulated afterwards as well, because of the public nature of all of this. Why do you think that happened?

I think a part of it is that Iranian cyber army, as they call it, is behind this because they want to muddy the waters. Because, you know, when you keep talking about, no, this is not real, this is not his body, this is not him, this is somebody else, the Iranians killed him. So, you know, when you fill the space with misinformation and such debates...

the action itself is forgotten. So it becomes a marginal point at that point. So I think many suspect that Iranian cyber army is behind this. And the other thing is that the government and Iranian state TV, they've been feeding propaganda for so many years. Iranians have gotten used to taking everything with a pinch of salt. So that is also might be a contributing factor.

Qianush's story ends tragically. And today, there are still Iranians whose lives are on the line amidst their fight for freedom. Next, we look at the protesters on death row and whether Iranian dissidents are any closer to winning their struggle.

Available now on The Documentary from the BBC World Service, Stephen Coates takes you to the Morse Code World Championships. In an internet-connected world, Morse Code, the alphabet of dots and dashes, might now feel from a different era. I'm meeting some of the people who are keeping the code alive. Morse Code, ready to transmit. Listen now by searching The Documentary, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

You're listening to The Global Story from the BBC World Service. There's a fresh episode available as a podcast each weekday. Just search for The Global Story wherever you get your podcasts. With me is Param Qobadi from the BBC's Persian service.

Param, it's impossible to talk about what happens to protesters without talking about those who are on death row right now as we speak. And you've been investigating the case of six protesters who are facing very serious sentences following their participation in the most recent mass protests two years ago. Correct. So...

These are six Iranian protesters who are on a death row right now. And the reason is that it's related to a case of an Iranian clergy, Basij. Basij is like a militia, Iranian militia. So he went to Western Tehran to crack down on protests, we found out. And then tens of protesters start chasing him. And then he's beaten up and he dies.

And so you've been looking at the case against these six men who were sentenced to death for his murder. But based on your investigation, there are serious concerns with those cases. What we found out through the court documents we obtained and his forensic reports that we obtained is that what led to his death was brain injury. However, because there were so many people beating and striking him, the police established a conclusion that it's not obvious whether

what blow and who actually caused the real death. The main judge said that none of these people was the person who actually caused the death of that Iranian clergy. So these are just people who, yes, who were there, who were at the scene. Maybe they punched him, maybe they kicked him, but they did not cause his death. However, the Iranian clergy

intelligence system does not operate like that. According to many human rights activists, they want to take revenge for every security agent that they've lost because they want to show their family members and their troops and their agents that we care about you. And to show strength and continue a crackdown. Exactly. So this case had three judges. The main judge of the court is against the

death sentence. However, they impose two other judges to the court and those judges, they're imposed to the court, they issue a death sentence so the main judge becomes a minority. His opinion becomes a minority and so right now six people are on a death row. What they hope, when I was talking to the lawyers in Iran, is that it has to go to the Supreme Court. And so what your investigation probes is holes in the cases that

And it goes towards what a lot of human rights organizations say about protesters' trials, that these are sham trials in their words. That's correct. So the Iranian, you know, judiciary, especially the revolutionary courts, and those courts are a kind of extension of Iranian intelligence apparatus.

So they are working in favor of the Iranian establishment. And there is a lot of miscarriage of justice witnessed there. For example, in this case, when we were investigating it, we realized that in the court document that we obtained, one of the defendants says that he was beaten up so much that he had to confess that

He hit that clergyman with a stoneware. In reality, he did not do that. Talking to an informed source inside Iran who follows the case closely, he said that one of the defendants was threatened with the rape of his wife.

So what we're talking about is the judicial system being used against any form of dissent, and particularly in this case, dissent linked to the fact that the court is not able to make a decision.

to the 2022 protests, those mass protests we've been talking about that were women-led, so much so that the chant, the anthem that these protesters kept saying were the words, Women, Life, Freedom. Women, Life, Freedom! Women, Life, Freedom!

Now, today we're not seeing mass protests on that scale, but we are seeing individual acts of defiance, ones like Kyonush's. And some people may be familiar with Ohu Daryoi. Now, that name may not be familiar to them, but the nickname, the science and research girl, might be

or perhaps the images that were circulating around the world of a young woman on her university campus in Tehran, stripping down to her underwear.

What do we know about Ahu? We do not know exactly who Ahu Daryal is exactly. And Ahu's case kind of links to Qiyanush because as soon as she was arrested, they said that, you know, she's got psychological problems, she's got mental health issues, and she's been put into a psychiatric hospital.

So you see, as soon as somebody, you know, is a form of dissent that they think that this is not appropriate, that is what they label, you know, protesters with. And of course, again, we don't know the specifics. We haven't verified them ourselves when it comes to Aarhu. But when it comes to Qiyanoush, when it comes to Aarhu, it's delegitimizing any form of potential protest, isn't it? If you're saying the person was mentally unbalanced. Exactly. And of course, you can't go back to Iran. But people I've spoken to who've

been going back and forth, have said that when you look at Tehran, it looks completely different. Women aren't wearing hijabs the same way. They're much more casual about it. Either they show a lot more hair than they did before or they just walk out without any hijab.

But we haven't seen the same level of mass protests in Iran as we did during the Women, Life, Freedom protests, those sparked by Mahsa Amini. So what does dissent look like right now? Well, it's daily acts of resistance. What you see on the streets of Iran is that is, yes, you do not have mass protests, but it was unimaginable for any Iranian to see the streets of Iran like this a few years ago, three years ago before Mahsa Amini's death.

So it's not only about headscarf as well, because Iranian women were obliged to wear a kind of trench coat, which is called manto. So that is also almost gone. You know, you see many girls and women on the streets that they're not wearing that. They're just wearing a loosely shirt or a top that where you can see their belly button. You know, things like that in the West is commonplace.

But in Iran, it was unimaginable for women to walk on the streets like that. So, yeah, I think some say that, you know, the protests, woman life protests did not come to fruition because the regime was not overthrown. However, when you look at the streets of Iran, you see that this is the result of the protests. And when you talk to Iranian women, they say that there is no going back to pre-Mahsa Amini era. Right.

But there isn't a united opposition, though, is there, or a figurehead? Even when you look at the Iranian diaspora, which is extremely critical of the regime and constantly calls for change, it struggles to unite. That is correct. And that is a...

you know, source of disappointment among many Iranians that, especially the diaspora, because they keep fighting with each other. And, you know, that... And of course, we should say that part of that infighting, oftentimes one hypothesis is also that

Iranian regime, the cyber warfare, as you talk about it, that they instigate some of those fights as well. But either way, the fact is there is no figurehead and we don't see the diaspora uniting. Exactly. And we've seen examples of that, you know, some of these accounts that they forget to switch accounts. So they tweet wrongly from, for example, Monarchist account.

while they're, you know, a hardliner. So, you know, they forgot to switch accounts. So it's obvious, like most of the Iranians know that, for example, some of the activists that pose, for example, as a monarchist, they're not real monarchists, they're Iranian cyber, you know, agents. So, yes, but apart from that, you know, the figureheads that you see, those who are figures, they did not manage to

to get united and say that, OK, this is a united opposition front against the Iranian regime. We're going to fight together and we're going to talk about, you know, sharing powers the day after the regime is overthrown. So we do not see that. There's a lot of infighting between them. And what about world leaders? What about the West? Because we saw some European countries even...

world leaders like Canada's Justin Trudeau react with sanctions or legislation against Iran when it came to those mass protests, the Women, Life, Freedom protests during the height of them. And that was partly in reaction to the diaspora's pressure.

pressure to their own citizens, pressuring them for help, for action. But what is the context now on the world stage? I think anybody who follows Iranian politics probably is the same with China and Russia as well. You know, when it comes to human rights, it's a secondary issue. Iranian nuclear program, Iranian ballistic missile program, Iranians...

role in the region. These are the priorities for Western powers. I'm not saying that human rights is not important at all, but it becomes a secondary issue. So yes, some people are putting, for example, United States sanctioned list. That's correct.

But the main priority is to prevent Iran, for example, I don't know, from expanding its nuclear program or its missile program. So, yeah, here and there, some Iranian officials are, you know, on sanctions list, but you see some other officials, you know, like Faisal,

I don't know, judges who were involved in issuing death sentences. You see them here and there that they travel to the United Kingdom or travel to the United States. And then later on, when people realize, it becomes news. Right. And you mentioned the nuclear deal. Donald Trump has been elected president of the United States.

He's due to take office in January. In his previous term, we saw him try maximum pressure, openly encouraging the people of Iran to rise up, exiting the nuclear deal. What are you expecting this time around? What is it people should be looking out for at least?

It's extremely difficult to predict, especially with Donald Trump, who is an unpredictable figure. But I think he's going to exert the maximum pressure policy again. However, this does not mean some by mistake think that he's not going to make a deal with Iran. This maximum pressure, it means that the Iranian regime is going to be overthrown. But what he said before as well, that

He wants his own. He did not believe in JCPOA, that former nuclear agreement. He wants his own agreement. Maybe Iranian regime, which is right now under a lot of economic pressure, also in the region, they've lost their proxies. Significantly weakened. Significant losses. So we don't know. Maybe the Iranian Supreme Leader says that.

instead of having my regime overthrown and having mass protests again, it's better to have a deal with the Donald Trump. So, you know, you never know. Maybe they can reach a deal, something that nobody expected before. Param Qobadi, thank you so much for your time. Thanks for having me again. Now, as we mentioned, Tehran today looks very different than a few years ago. It was previously unthinkable to see women on the streets of the capital walking publicly without a hijab. But not anymore.

That doesn't mean the issue is settled, though. Parliament has passed a controversial new chastity in hijab law that has been planned for some time. It would impose tougher punishments on women who do not wear the hijab. It's due to land on the president's desk imminently for his signature.

If you want to get in touch, you can email us at theglobalstoryatbbc.com or you can send us a message or even a voice note on WhatsApp. Our number is plus44 330 123 9480. You can find those details in our show notes. Wherever you're listening in the world, this has been The Global Story. Thanks for having us in your headphones. Bye for now.

Available now on The Documentary from the BBC World Service, Stephen Coates takes you to the Morse Code World Championships. In an internet-connected world, Morse Code, the alphabet of dots and dashes, might now feel from a different era. I'm meeting some of the people who are keeping the code alive. Morse Code, ready to transmit. Listen now by searching The Documentary, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.