The death of Ali Mirza Niazi in Vakilabad Prison, Mashhad, on 6 November 2023, once again exposed the depth of the escalating suicide crisis inside Iran’s prisons. Niazi was left without medical intervention for hours after ingesting methadone and pills, and was transferred to hospital only when it was already too late. Weeks earlier, in Qezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Mohammad Koushki died under similar circumstances after swallowing drugs without receiving timely treatment. These cases are part of a persistent pattern in which prisoners in critical condition are not protected, but instead effectively abandoned at the point where intervention is most vital.

In some cases, the link between violence, psychological collapse and death is even more explicit. In Hamedan Prison, Hossein Karimabadi, who had slit his throat and required immediate medical care, was not transferred to a hospital but instead taken directly to be executed. Such cases illustrate how death in custody is not an isolated occurrence but the predictable outcome of a coercive and punitive system. This report examines the available evidence and outlines the structures and practices through which prisoners are systematically pushed toward death.

Context and Scale of the Crisis

In recent years, Iran’s prisons have evolved into environments defined by chronic psychological pressure, violence and institutional breakdown. Severe overcrowding, prolonged solitary confinement, restricted family visits, repeated security interrogations, denial of medical care, threats and humiliation together form a system that erodes the physical and mental integrity of prisoners.

Lakan Prison in Rasht represents one of the most alarming examples. In November 2023 alone, 20 prisoners attempted suicide, including 11 through cutting their veins, while others used dangerous drugs. During the same month, Sohrab Azadbar died after ingesting methadone. This monthly figure shows that suicide is not an individual reaction but a direct consequence of structural and deliberate pressures.

Similar patterns have been reported in Vakilabad (Mashhad), Qezel Hesar (Karaj), Urmia, Bookan, Greater Tehran Prison, and Hamedan. Across these facilities, suicide attempts appear as the end point of continuous coercion, where prisoners—especially political detainees—are placed under conditions that offer no lawful or safe avenue for redress.
A detailed list of documented suicide cases across these prisons is provided in Appendix Tables 1–5.

Patterns and Death-Inducing Practices

Solitary confinement is systematically used as a tool of psychological control. Long-term isolation, denial of visits, intimidation and constant surveillance sever prisoners from any emotional support system. In the case of Hamzeh Darvish, repeated solitary confinement, new fabricated charges and ongoing threats pushed him repeatedly toward suicidal actions.

Repeated cases show that prisoners who ingest dangerous substances or attempt suicide are not provided immediate medical care. This deliberate inaction was evident in the deaths of Niazi and Koushki. Reports from Urmia, Greater Tehran Prison and Karaj describe a consistent pattern in which medical intervention is withheld, delayed or conditioned on punitive measures—transforming medical neglect into an intentional method of coercion.

In several prisons, suicide attempts occur directly after beatings, humiliation or sexual violence. The death of Payam Sattari in Bookan, following reports of severe abuse and assault, and the suicide attempts of Farhad and Fardin Aghazadeh in Urmia after being beaten, demonstrate how torture can become the immediate trigger for self-harm.

One of the most alarming pieces of evidence comes from Hamzeh Darvish’s third letter to the UN Special Rapporteur. He stated that officials told him, “There are easier ways to kill yourself,” and detailed the distribution of propranolol—a drug lethal in high doses—encouraging prisoners to use it. He reported that nine prisoners in Ward 8 of Lakan Prison died after being given such medication.

Heavy sentences, fabricated charges, prolonged uncertainty and the constant threat of new prosecutions create unbearable psychological strain.
For case-by-case data supporting these findings, see Appendix Tables 1–5.

Key Case Studies

The deaths of Ali Mirza Niazi and Mohammad Koushki illustrate how deliberate delays or refusals of medical care directly enable preventable deaths.

In cases such as those involving Payam Sattari or the Aghazadeh brothers, suicide attempts occurred following physical assault. These deaths reflect the merging of torture and self-harm within the same sequence of coercion.

Darvish’s accounts—detailing threats, dangerous medication, solitary confinement and repeated interrogations—constitute one of the clearest documented examples of a prisoner being systematically pushed toward death.

Karimabadi’s execution while in medical emergency demonstrates an extreme form of violating the right to life.

The deaths of Kianoosh Sanjari and Yalda Aghafazeli highlight the long-term effects of trauma extending beyond imprisonment.

Legal Assessment

Iran is obligated under international human rights law to protect the life, health and physical integrity of detainees. Solitary confinement, deliberate denial of medical care, encouragement of suicide, torture, and concealing causes of death constitute clear violations of the right to life, the prohibition of torture, and the Mandela Rules requiring immediate investigation of deaths in custody.

The documented patterns demonstrate systemic violations embedded within institutional structures.

Conclusion

The evidence shows that suicide in Iran’s prisons is the outcome of structural pressures, punitive practices and death-inducing policies. From Lakan in Rasht to Mashhad, Karaj, Urmia and Hamedan, consistent patterns emerge: solitary confinement, absence of medical care, torture, threats, dangerous medication and judicial coercion create conditions in which prisoners are systematically pushed toward death.

Addressing this crisis requires transparency, independent monitoring and dismantling the structures that turn the lives of prisoners into instruments of control.

Appendix: Documented Suicide and Death Cases in Iranian Prisons

Table 1 – Confirmed Suicides in Custody

Table 2 – Suspicious Suicides Linked to Torture or Abuse

Table 3 – Suicide Attempts as Protest (Survived)

Table 4 – Post-Release Suicides Linked to Detention Trauma

Table 5 – Prisoners at High Risk of Suicide (Urgent Monitoring)