Detainees in Iran are being forcibly injected with unknown substances inside detention facilities, according to eyewitness testimonies, informed sources and human rights monitors who warn of a growing pattern of deaths among current and former prisoners.
Shiva Mahbobi, a former political prisoner and a spokesperson for the Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran, said her organization has been collecting accounts suggesting that detainees—particularly those wounded during recent protests—are being denied medical care and, in some cases, subjected to injections of unknown substances.
“One massacre happened on the street,” Mahbobi said in an interview with Iran International. “Another may be happening quietly in prisons and detention centers.”
Iranian authorities tightly restrict access to detention facilities, families are often warned against speaking publicly, and there is no mechanism for independent medical or forensic investigation.
Still, Mahbobi and other activists say the reports they are receiving show a troubling pattern rather than isolated incidents.
According to Mahbobi, injured protesters are frequently taken directly into custody rather than to hospitals, where some are left without treatment.
In several cases reported to her organization, detainees were allegedly injected during detention and later experienced rapid medical deterioration.
'Teenage girl in a coma'
In one recent case described by an informed source, a 16-year-old girl detained last week fell into a coma after what the source said was an injection administered in custody.
Medical tests later indicated signs of poisoning, though doctors have not determined the cause.
The teenager, who was released only after her family paid heavy bail, was transferred to intensive care and remains hospitalized, the source said.
Mahbobi also cited a case in Isfahan in which a young woman was detained, released on bail, and died the following day.
In another reported incident, in Shahinshahr, near Isfahan, Mahbobi said the family of a detained man was told he would be released only after posting bail and receiving what officials described as a “vaccine.”
According to Mahbobi, the man resisted the injection, was beaten, and later found it difficult to obtain medical care after his release, as doctors feared repercussions.
'Voices calling for help in morgue'
Eyewitness accounts received by Iran International describe similarly disturbing scenes beyond detention centers.
One witness said voices calling for help could be heard inside a morgue as bodies were being processed, alleging that they were resisting injections.
Mahbobi said documenting abuses inside prisons remains particularly difficult.
“What people don’t see on television is the most frightening part,” she said. “There is no footage from inside prisons.”
The allegations echo reports from the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests, when several detainees died shortly after their release following unexplained medical treatment in custody.
In some cases, families and rights groups raised concerns about injections or drug administration, but no independent investigations were carried out.
At the time, medical experts warned that the forced use of sedatives or psychiatric drugs in detention—and their abrupt withdrawal—could cause severe complications, including cardiac failure.
'Lethal injections in jails'
The exact substances allegedly being used in current cases remain unknown.“We don’t know what they are injecting,” Mahbobi said.
“What we know is that people are being injected in custody, and some of them are dying.”
Mahbobi also said her organization has received reports of injured protesters taken away by ambulance who later returned to their families as bodies, as well as accounts from Kermanshah of residents being summoned to identify corpses which locals believed belonged to detainees.
She warned that executions may increasingly be carried out away from public view. “The executions won’t look like before,” she said. "They will be hidden.”
Iranian officials have not commented on the allegations.
Mahbobi called on the international community to pressure Iranian authorities to disclose the identities and locations of detainees and allow independent monitoring of detention facilities.
“Our fear,” she said, “is that if this continues in silence, many people will never come out alive.”
The Iranian outlet Khabar Online has argued that the fear of being digitally cut off from unfolding events can resemble a form of mass FOMO, anxiety driven not by social media envy, but by enforced disconnection.
Beyond personal stress
The article says that the consequences extend far beyond individual stress. “Cutting the internet is not just a trauma at the individual level; it severely destroys interpersonal bonds and trust,” it said.
It also warned of what it called “anticipatory anxiety.” Even after access is partially restored, society remains on edge.
“Every slight drop in internet speed triggers waves of stress and panic over another shutdown,” the article added.
US-based psychotherapist Azadeh Afsahi said the effects mirror enforced isolation. “Clinically, shutting down the internet is equivalent to enforced isolation and the sudden loss of multiple coping mechanisms at once,” Afsahi told Iran International.
“Isolation is a well-established driver of anxiety and depression and significantly increases the risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.”
She added that Iran’s psychological baseline is already fragile.
Decades of repression, violence, economic instability, and chronic uncertainty have severely compromised mental health, she said, and internet shutdowns “compound the existing trauma” and can “push already vulnerable individuals closer to psychological collapse.”
From isolation to overload
Afsahi said prolonged digital silence creates a dangerous psychological cycle: after days or weeks of isolation, people are suddenly exposed to graphic images and devastating news once access is partially restored.
The abrupt flood of information, she said, can overwhelm the nervous system, triggering panic attacks, dissociation, intrusive thoughts, trauma-related symptoms resembling PTSD, and an increased risk of suicide.
“This cycle – isolation followed by psychological overload – creates cumulative, long-term harm,” Afsahi said.
The effects are not confined to those inside Iran. Families, journalists, activists, and content creators abroad are also affected, as their mental wellbeing depends on connection and community.
Shutdown as a tool of control
Internet disruptions have become a familiar reality for Iranians in recent years. Sometimes nationwide, sometimes regional or temporary, shutdowns have emerged as a central tool used by authorities to control protests, slow the spread of information, and suppress evidence of repression.
During crises, restricted access heightens public anxiety while crippling digital businesses and essential online services.
The most recent shutdown followed the 12-day war with Israel in June, when internet access was disrupted for roughly six days. This time, however, several days of complete blackout were followed by only limited access to a heavily censored domestic intranet.
Nearly 25 days later, the restrictions persist, with only a trickle of tightly restricted access returning. Many people and businesses still lack access.
Coping at the margins
Some Iranians have traveled to border regions or neighboring countries to send business files, upload videos documenting the January 8-9 crackdown, or contact family members.
Meanwhile, informal volunteer networks abroad have attempted to provide access through anti-censorship tools such as Psiphon and its Conduit feature, offering slow and unstable connections to the outside world.
The government says the shutdown is necessary to protect national security and citizens’ lives. Concerns over potential cyberattacks may also play a role.
Technology researcher Mohammad Rahbari warned in Khabar Online that prolonged communication blackouts can undermine society’s psychological stability.
“The continuation of communication shutdowns, even if intended to protect citizens’ physical safety, can seriously damage psychological security – which is a core component of overall security,” he said.
