On the night of Tuesday, November 11, 2025, Sahar Shahbazian (Tannaz), a 26-year-old female prisoner held in Fardis Prison, Karaj, died under suspicious circumstances.
According to informed sources, the real cause of death was cardiac arrest resulting from delays in her transfer to the hospital. However, prison authorities have claimed she died from an “overdose,” a statement that directly contradicts testimonies from inmates and those close to her.
Sahar Shahbazian had been arrested on charges of murder, but during the judicial process it became evident that she was not the perpetrator. Despite the emergence of her innocence, she remained in custody and ultimately died in suspicious circumstances. Her death has once again raised alarms about the inhumane conditions in Iran’s women’s prisons.
Medical Neglect Crisis in Iranian Prisons
In recent years, numerous reports have documented the lack of medical care, shortage of medication, and systematic neglect in Iranian prisons, conditions that have led to a growing number of unnatural deaths.
Within the past year alone, at least 23 women have died in Qarchak Prison in Varamin.
Among the victims of this ongoing crisis were Somayeh Rashidi, a political prisoner who died in a hospital on September 25, 2025, after repeated seizures and denial of medical treatment, as well as Jamileh Azizi and Soudabeh Asadi, who both lost their lives due to the absence of effective medical care.
Following these reports, the U.S. Department of State issued a statement describing the deaths of these three women as “the direct result of the regime’s cruel denial of medical care” and called for accountability from Iranian authorities.
The death of Sahar Shahbazian in Fardis Prison is not an isolated incident, but part of a systemic pattern of neglect, repression, and denial of basic human rights faced by women prisoners in Iran.