A well-known Iranian human rights activist has killed himself in protest at what he called the dictatorship of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In a post on social media, Kianoosh Sanjari said he would take his own life if four political prisoners were not released by 19:00 local time (15:30 GMT) on Wednesday.
His death was confirmed hours later by fellow activists.
In a post before he died, he said he wished that “one day Iranians” would “wake up and overcome slavery”.Sanjari was a vocal critic of Iran’s leaders and advocate for democracy.
“No one should be imprisoned for expressing their opinions,” he said before he died.
“Protest is the right of every Iranian citizen.”
On Wednesday morning, he had written: “If Fateme Sepehari, Nasreen Shakrami, Tomaj Salehi and Arsham Rezaei are not released from prison by 19:00 today … I will end my life in protest against the dictatorship of Khamenei and his partners.”
