Iran International
Prominent activists and human rights advocates have condemned Iranian authorities for labeling a young female student from Tehran's Azad University as mentally ill after she stripped in apparent protest at an assault by security forces over her clothing.
Manouchehr Bakhtiari was sentenced to 18 years and 74 lashes in January for his calls for accountability after his son Pouya, 27, was killed during the anti-government protests of November 2019.
His family has reported that he is being denied medical leave for serious health issues, including the need for hernia and prostate surgeries, despite forensic recommendations supporting his request.
Bakhtiari’s son, Pouya, sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head in Karaj amid security forces’ crackdown on protests, during which hundreds of demonstrators were killed.
Since Pouya’s death, Bakhtiari and his family have called for investigations into what they say is state-sanctioned violence against citizens.
Bakhtiari’s daughter, Mona, recently took to social media to express the family’s alarm over her father’s worsening health. According to her statement, Bakhtiari “collapsed inside the prison, but authorities refused to transfer him to an outside hospital, only moving him to the prison infirmary.”
In her post, she appealed to human rights organizations, activists, and the Iranian public to stand up for her father. The Bakhtiari family has called for his immediate release.
Before starting his hunger strike eight days ago, Bakhtiari sent an audio message from prison, saying, “From October 28 until my release from prison, I will be on hunger strike, and the Islamic Republic is responsible for whatever happens to me.”
Many prisoners in Iran are forced to resort to hunger strikes as a last resort to achieve their demands, including delays in case processing and violations of their rights as prisoners, often putting their lives at risk.
Bakhtiari’s wife, Nahid Shirpisheh, who has also publicly advocated for accountability, is currently serving a five-year sentence in Zanjan Prison. Her charges likewise stem from efforts to seek justice for their son Pouya.
“The official stance of Iran in rejecting weapons of mass destruction and regarding the peaceful nature of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program is clear," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei.
"As emphasized in the recent speech by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, we will equip ourselves to the extent necessary for the defense of Iran," he added.
For weeks, Iranian officials have ramped up their narrative that Tehran possesses the capability to produce nuclear weapons, asserting that only Khamenei's religious fatwa prevents it from doing so.
Baghaei also claimed that the country will use all its "material and spiritual resources to respond to the recent aggressions by the Zionist regime."
This statement comes as Iran’s leadership intensifies its stance amid escalating tensions with the United States and Israel.
Khamenei has called on officials to make every necessary preparation to defend the country against the US and Israel.
"We are fully committed to preparing the Iranian nation in every necessary way to confront arrogance," Khamenei said on Saturday.
He added that both military readiness and political efforts are integral to this approach.
On October 1, Iran launched more than 180 ballistic missiles in two waves, targeting sites within Israel. The attack was presented as a response to the recent assassinations of several key figures allied with Iran, including Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. While Israel reported intercepting most of the missiles, the strikes have led to further deterioration in already fraught relations between the two arch enemies.
Israel’s October 26 retaliation included airstrikes on Iranian missile facilities and air defense systems, resulting in the deaths of four Iranian soldiers and one civilian, according to Iranian sources. While Iran has not disclosed details of potential further responses, its leadership has said it will give a harsh response.
Experts have noted that Iran's strategic defense capabilities have been severely compromised by Israel, casting doubt on the credibility of Khamenei’s promised responses.
In response to the attacks between Israel and Iran, the country has experienced further economic turmoil, with the US dollar now trading at 710,000 rials—the steepest decline in the value of the national currency to date.
On Monday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian drawn attention to the economic pressures facing the nation, saying the country faced an economic war rather than a purely military one.
Pezeshkian warned that economic hardships could pose a more significant threat to Iran than external military aggression, suggesting that economic resilience is now a primary focus of his administration.
“Today, we are facing an all-out economic war. What can bring us to our knees are economic problems, and our enemies are pursuing this goal, but we must not be defeated,” he said.
According to Pezeshkian, Iran’s missile capabilities are to deter aggression rather than provoke it. He explained that these weapons serve as a warning, ensuring that no nation could launch an attack on Iran without facing serious consequences.
"We developed missiles so that, like Gaza, Israel cannot bomb anywhere, anyone, at any time it wishes," Pezeshkian added.
On October 7 last year, Iran-backed Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israeli border areas, killing hundreds of civilians and taking scores hostage. Israel responded with extensive airstrikes targeting Gaza.
The spokesman for the parliament's health committee Salman Es’haghi confirmed that the deaths of at least 70 dialysis patients were due to aluminum-contaminated medication.
In June, Iran International reported that Samen Pharmaceutical Company, a subsidiary of the influential Astan Quds Razavi, is the sole producer of the medication.
Without revealing the manufacturer's identity, Es’haghi added that production of the medication has not been halted and while suggesting that a legal case was filed at the time, said the judiciary has yet to initiate serious legal action for accountability.
The Ministry of Health said Monday that the deaths were cases from the previous year, and that there is no cause for concern today.
The contamination surfaced in early 2024, initially with reports of fatalities among dialysis patients in Mashhad and Isfahan.
Early estimates cited 10 to 12 deaths, but as investigations progressed, the toll quickly climbed to 50, eventually reaching 70 confirmed deaths.
Symptoms included brain dysfunction, seizures, infections, and coma - all consistent with aluminum toxicity.
Es’haghi said that the initial assumption was low-quality production, but later findings suggested contamination with aluminum, leading to severe complications.
Criticizing the judiciary's slow response, Es'haghi said that months have passed without any significant action.
“If the judiciary continues to neglect its responsibilities,” he warned, “the Health Committee will disclose the name of the company and escalate the matter through other channels.”
Dialysis drug maker linked to sanctioned group
Headquartered in Mashhad and directly overseen by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Astan Quds Razavi - the parent company of the drug producer Samen - has a long and complex history of influence over Iran’s pharmaceutical sector.
Former President Ebrahim Raisi previously served as the head of Astan Quds Razavi, a conglomerate with extensive holdings across Iran’s economy.
Astan Quds Razavi was sanctioned by the US primarily for being owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by Iran’s Supreme Leader. Raisi’s successor as custodian, Ahmad Marvi, was also sanctioned under this designation.
The Iranian Food and Drug Administration first acknowledged issues with the dialysis solution in June, citing reports of adverse reactions linked to the product manufactured by Samen Pharmaceutical Company.
The Food and Drug Administration temporarily halted production, distribution, and use of the company’s peritoneal dialysis solution until further testing could be conducted; however, it remains unclear why production has resumed without confirmed safety improvements.
Samen Pharmaceutical Company, founded in 1984, holds a dominant position in Iran’s pharmaceutical industry as the sole producer of peritoneal dialysis solutions. Its shareholders include Astan Quds Razavi, which controls a 70% stake, along with the Iranian Retirement Fund and Hakim Pharmaceuticals.
Es’haghi said that the company's head admitted a lack of oversight on raw materials used in manufacturing, with aluminum-contaminated ingredients apparently slipping through quality control.
Iran’s dialysis patients, estimated at around 800,000, rely heavily on peritoneal dialysis solutions like those produced by Samen Pharmaceutical. Peritoneal dialysis involves using the abdominal lining as a membrane for filtering blood, and contamination of the solution can have severe, even fatal, consequences. Patients affected by the contaminated batch, distributed between December 2023 and May 2024, suffered irreversible damage.
Efforts to uncover details of the contamination have faced obstacles.
In June, when deaths were first reported, Samen Pharmaceutical reportedly informed journalists it was barred from commenting on the matter by a superior organization, believed to be Astan Quds Razavi.
This restriction has fueled public concern, as Astan Quds Razavi has previously been implicated in various allegations of corruption and misconduct.
Footage circulated widely on Saturday showing the woman in her underwear on campus, with officers seen taking her into custody by force. A university official said the student had been sent to a police station for “severe psychological distress,” mirroring claims from media linked to the IRGC that she had mental health issues.
"This student appeared in class wearing inappropriate clothing," the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-linked Fars News agency reported at the time.
"After being reminded by university security to follow dress code regulations on campus, she undressed and walked around the university grounds without clothing," it added, denying that she had faced any violence.
Amir Kabir Newsletter, a student group on Telegram which has covered student dissent for years, reported she had disrobed after being harassed and beaten for not wearing a headscarf.
Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi condemned Iranian authorities on Monday for gaslighting the student, whose identity remains unknown and whom Iran International was unable to reach.
"Labeling protesters as mentally ill is the regime’s longstanding method for suppressing dissent," Ebadi said on Instagram, adding that such tactics are used to silence opposition. "If the protesting student at Azad University was 'ill,' why was she arrested? Is the security apparatus responsible for citizens' medical care?"
Iranian activist Azam Jangravi shared a personal account of how similar pressures affected her during her imprisonment for anti-hijab protests.
"My family was pressured to declare me mentally ill, even being taken to a forensic doctor … My family didn’t do it, but many families under pressure do, thinking it’s the best way to protect their loved ones. This is how the Islamic Republic tries to discredit women by questioning their mental health," she said in a post on Instagram.
Shima Babaei, an exiled activist and recipient of the 2023 Women’s Rights Award of the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, shared her experience: "When I removed my headscarf in the street and was imprisoned, I heard sarcastic remarks: You are part of a project, you are crazy, and you just want attention."
Iranian journalist and women’s rights activist, Masih Alinejad, also highlighted the Iranian government's repeated use of mental health accusations to undermine female protesters.
Recalling past experiences, Alinejad said: "In 2014, when I launched the My Stealthy Freedom campaign against compulsory hijab, the regime claimed I had a mental breakdown and used fabricated stories to discredit me."
Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, currently detained in Tehran's Evin Prison, also expressed solidarity with the student and denounced the authorities' actions.
"The regime cannot force protesting women, who have made their bodies symbols of dissent and defiance against misogyny and tyranny, into retreat by labeling them as 'mentally unstable,' 'sexually deviant,' or 'misled.'"
The incident and the subsequent labeling of the student have drawn widespread criticism and underscored the ongoing struggle of Iranian women against the enforcement of compulsory hijab laws.
Calls for her release and demands to stop the suppression of women's rights have resonated across social media and rights groups.
The International Federation of Journalists on Monday condemned Iran for arresting the student, who is being identified by Iranian media reports as Ahou Daryaei," saying the girl "protested against the country's draconian dress code by stripping to her underwear."
The IFJ also called on the Iranian government to "urgently review its systemic attempts to trample women's rights and violate freedom of expression, and to release all prisoners including all journalists."
As the student’s identity remains unconfirmed and no updates have followed her arrest, activists have expressed concern for her well-being in custody.
