Nahid Shirpisheh, mother of slain Iranian protester Pouya Bakhtiari, has gone on a hunger strike after recently attempting suicide in Zanjan Prison. This tragic incident follows months of arbitrary detention, during which she endured physical abuse, mistreatment by prison guards, and prolonged periods in solitary confinement. The persecution of Mrs. Shirpisheh is not an isolated case but rather part of a broader pattern of the regime systematically targeting all dissenting voices, specifically the families of protesters who have been killed. Urgent action must be taken to hold the regime accountable for its human rights violations, including comprehensive and targeted sanctions on its criminal justice system, diplomatic isolation, and providing the Iranian people the tools they need to report human rights violations in real time.

The Bottom Line

Nahid Shirpisheh recently attempted suicide after being detained for demanding accountability from the Islamic Republic for killing her son Pouya Bakhtiari.
- Pouya Bakhtiari was among the first of over 1,500 unarmed protesters killed during the regime's crackdown on the 2019 Bloody November Protests, which were sparked by the regime's decision to raise fuel prices by 300%.

While in custody, Shirpisheh has allegedly been repeatedly beaten by other inmates, mistreated by prison guards, held in solitary confinement for prolonged periods, and denied her fundamental rights to minimal healthcare and contact with her family.
- The regime's mistreatment of Shirpisheh is not an isolated incident. Security forces regularly target the families and loved ones of protesters and dissidents killed, as part of its broader campaign of repression.
- Despite her deteriorating physical and mental health, Shirpisheh is reportedly now on a hunger strike in protest against the continued abuse and neglect.

Persecution of Nahid Shirpisheh: A Timeline

On November 16, 2019, Shirpisheh and her two children, Mona and Pouya Bakhtiari, joined peaceful protests in Karaj, Alborz Province, west of Tehran.
- The protests were triggered by an overnight 300% hike in fuel prices.

The regime responded with brute force and fired live rounds into the crowd of unarmed protesters killing 1,500 people.
- Pouya, 27 years old at the time, was among the first to be killed on the streets.
- Moments before regime security forces shot him in the head, he recorded a heartfelt message urging others to participate in protests. The video went viral after his death bringing international attention to the regime’s crackdown.

Following this tragedy, the Bakhtiari family received vocal support throughout civil society in Iran, particularly from other families whose relatives were also victims of the regime's violence.

In the aftermath of Pouya's death, Shirpisheh, along with other family members, publicly condemned the regime's violence and demanded accountability for Pouya's killing.

Due to this condemnation, the family came under intense pressure from security forces, attempting to coerce them into silence. On December 23, 2019, security forces raided the family’s home and arrested both of Pouya’s parents, his sister, brother-in-law, three uncles, and even his 11-year-old cousin.

On December 31, 2019, Gholam-Hossein Esmaeili, a spokesperson for the regime’s Judiciary, accused the family of “acting against national security” and announced that their detention was ordered by the Alborz Provincial Security Council which operates under the Interior Ministry.

By January 22, 2020, all detained members of his family were released from custody.
- Security forces delayed their release so that the family would not be able to have traditional commemoration ceremonies typically held within the first weeks after their loved one’s passing.
- This was an intentional security measure taken by the regime, for such commemoration ceremonies have historically turned into focal points for protests.

His family has been arrested repeatedly for demanding justice and participating in campaigns calling for fundamental change in Iran.

In response to their defiance and vocal opposition, the regime has slapped them with bogus security charges and handed them draconian sentences.
- Pouya’s father, Manochehr Bakhtiari, has been charged and sentenced in multiple cases. First, he was sentenced to 13 months for “online publication of false information.” In a subsequent case, he was charged with “propaganda against the regime,” “gathering and colluding against the security of the regime,” “'forming a group with the intention of disrupting the regime,” “spreading lies,” and “membership in groups opposed to the regime,” and was sentenced to 42 months in prison.
- Pouya’s uncle, Mehrdad Bakhtiari, was charged with “propaganda against the regime” and “gathering and collusion with the intention of acting against national security. He was sentenced to six years in jail, a two-year ban from leaving the country, and a two-year exile to a city in Iran and away from his place of residence.

On July 11, 2022, security forces violently arrested Shirpisheh and held her at an undisclosed detainment facility.

A week later, she was transferred to the infamous Kachouie Prison in Karaj, also referred to as Fardis Prison.
- Her arrest came amid a wave of persecutions and arrests of families demanding justice for the state killing of their loved ones.

She was subsequently held in the "dangerous criminal housing unit” (reserved for exceptionally violent criminals).
- This is a common tactic used by security forces in Iran to apply intense pressure on political prisoners by housing them alongside convicted violent criminals.

On August 4, 2022, due to prison officials' intentional disregard for her safety, inmates assaulted and severely injured Shirpisheh.
- According to Mona Bakhtiari, Shirpisheh’s daughter, the inmates “grabbed her throat in a way that almost choked her to death, and bruises on her neck were visible for quite a while."
- This attack is indicative of a common practice by the regime, where prison officials and guards not only turn a blind eye to attacks on political prisoners but, in some cases, actively encourage them through bribes and other incentives.

In September 2022, she was sentenced to five years in prison on trumped-up security charges of “gathering and collusion to act against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.”
- During her imprisonment, she has repeatedly been denied the right to have visitors or call her family.

On July 2, 2023, her daughter raised the alarm that Shirpisheh had again been assaulted by inmates.
- After a visit to the prison, Mona Bakhtiari described her mother as being in “poor mental and physical condition” with “bruises visible on her body” and “inmates given free rein or in cahoots with them had beaten her. The guards had not intervened, and unsurprisingly the CCTV cameras were not working.”

On February 11, 2025, Nahid Shirpisheh attempted suicide in jail. Her family was informed of the incident four days later.
- Her daughter, Mona Bakhtiari stated, “that instead of providing Shirpisheh with medical care, prison authorities have transferred her to solitary confinement.”

As of February 27, 2025, she has gone on a hunger strike to protest the regime’s oppression.

Wider Pattern of Persecution

The persecution of Shirpisheh and the Bakhtairi family is not an isolated case; other families of killed dissidents have also been arrested.

In a six-month-long study, human rights organizations recorded at least 70 additional cases.

The regime has meticulously created a notoriously harsh detainment program specifically for political prisoners and their families.
- Detainees are repeatedly subjected to prolonged periods of isolation, floggings, beatings, molestation, rape, electrocution, removal of nails, and psychological torture.

Arbitrary detainment is just one of many repressive tools the regime uses to quash dissent and intimidate families like the Bakhtairi’s. Other tactics the regime deploys include:
- The desecration of an untold number of graves and tombs belonging to dissidents, assaulting grieving family members during memorial services, and ongoing threats to not hold funeral proceedings at all.

The regime's treatment of Shirpisheh and thousands of other dissidents reveals a pattern of prioritizing the preservation of its power and ideology over the well-being and rights of the Iranian people.

Policy Recommendations

In conjunction with the Maximum Pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic, the White House must also hold the regime accountable for human rights violations. These measures should include the following:
- Expanding and enforcing existing sanctions on the regime's criminal justice system, targeting individuals and institutions within the prison system, prosecutor's offices, and the judiciary, as detailed in NUFDI’s report “Hiding in the Shadows.”
- Leading efforts to arrest and prosecute human rights violations particularly when offenders are traveling outside of Iran.
- Preventing human rights violators, their immediate relatives, and close associates from obtaining visas to the United States.

The United States should lead efforts to isolate the regime on the world stage to ensure that the regime does not have an international platform. This can be implemented by:
- Urging European allies to expel the Islamic Republic’s ambassadors and recall their own ambassadors from Tehran.
- Reinstituting travel restrictions for the Islamic Republic's delegation to the United Nations General Assembly.
- Working with allies to establish a no-go zone for human rights violators and their families by instituting a travel ban.

The United States should also provide Iranians with the necessary tools to report and document the regime's oppression. This will not only bring international attention to the issue but also empower Iranians to continue applying pressure on the regime.
- Create an online portal to track and document the regime’s human rights violations.