A number of political prisoners issued statements condemning the death of imprisoned poet and filmmaker Baktash Abtin, describing them as “systematic killings of political prisoners.”
The statement issued by the Writers’ Association of Iran blamed the judiciary and the prisons organization for the death of Baktash Abtin.

In a statement, the political prisoners called the death of the imprisoned writer “a continuation of the serial killings of dissidents” using “cleaner means”, citing the authorities’ indifference to Baktash Abtin’s condition and his late transfer to the hospital

Abtin is the second prisoner in Iran to die since the start of 2022. On January 1, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) reported that Kian Adelpour died under “ambiguous circumstances” after going on a hunger strike in Ahwaz prison to protest his case. The activists Sasan Nikfans and Behnam Mahjoobi died in prison in 2020. Their families allege that prison authorities delayed or restricted their access to health care.