Iranian Woman Prisoner Protests Transfer to Mental Hospital

Armita Pavir’s voice trembles with emotion as she speaks from behind the walls of Tabriz prison. This university student has been on hunger strike for the past 17 days – her third over the past five months. 

In an audio file obtained by IranWire, Pavir expresses her fears that the prison authorities might put into execution their repeated threats to transfer her to a psychiatric hospital. 

The young woman was first detained during protests in the northwestern city of Tabriz on October 31 last year. Before that, she was suspended and then banned from university for her student activism.

Pavir ran a Telegram channel where he shared her daily experiences and emphasized the need to keep up the resistance against the Islamic Republic to bring changes in her country.

Security agents confiscated her mobile phone and electronic devices, and pressured her to sign a letter of apology to justify her arrest.

The judiciary claims to have arrested her for "financial" reasons, citing a debt she allegedly owed the university for running a café at Tabriz Madani University.

However, an informed source has told IranWire that this is merely a pretext, as she remains incarcerated despite having paid the debt and damages.

She has been sentenced to a total of 22 months and 17 days in prison. 

In December, the Revolutionary Court convicted Pavir of "propaganda against the Islamic Republic" and "insulting” the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. 

In the audio file, Pavir recounts her harrowing ordeal at the hands of the prison authorities. 

She reveals that the prison’s doctor tried to inject her with serum but failed, and the prison authorities now want her hospitalized. 

Pavir adamantly refused, stating, "I will not lift my strike for a thousand and one reasons. I refuse to yield under any circumstances, even if it means facing death."

The pressure tactics employed by authorities include preventing her from communicating outside the prison walls.

She has also been threatened to be transferred to Razi Psychiatric Hospital, known for its harsh treatment of dissidents.

"I refuse to bow down. Even if my body is removed from this cell, my spirit remains unbroken. My voice falters and my throat is parched. I will not falter," Pavir says.

The source which provided Pavir's audio file to IranWire describes her as "bold and resolute," noting her unwavering commitment even in the face of death. 

This individual also reveals that Tabriz prison authorities aim to fabricate charges against Pavir, alleging plans to incite riots among fellow inmates.

The Iranian government has a history of using mental health allegations against political and ideological dissidents.