TEHRAN-Death of Javad Rouhi in the hospital reminded the Western think tanks and media outlets to repeat their Mahsa Amini scenario this time with a new actor.

Javad Rouhi was transferred to Shahid Beheshti Hospital due to a convulsion at 3:45 a.m. on Thursday, August 31. 

Despite the efforts of medical staff, he died in the hospital, according to Nowshahr Prison.

After his death, the prison filed a case with the first branch of investigation. The prosecutor in Nowshahr and an investigator questioned Rouhi's cellmates about him.

According to the judicial order, cameras of the prison were reviewed, and the personal belongings of Rouhi, including his notes and medicines, were examined.
 
His body was sent to the forensic medical examiner for further investigation about the cause of death and toxicological examinations, and an autopsy and sampling were carried out.
 
Following his death, the Western think tanks started a campaign by calling it a “suspicious death”, and some other media outlets took a step further by questioning the reason for his arrest. This report will shed light on the whole story.

Who was Javad Rouhi and why was he arrested?

Corruption on Earth, acting against the country’s internal security, disruption in public order, causing insecurity, vandalism, and desecration of the holy Quran were some of the accusations against Rouhi, according to the Sari Islamic Revolutionary Court.

In the court session, he confessed to burning the Quran, his actions, and his leading role in the unrest.

“I came to Nowshahr from Amol city a few days before the riots. On December 11, 2022, I noticed that people were moving to Nowshahr's Azadi Square. At that moment, I was inside the mobile phone shop when I joined the crowd then a lady gave me the Quran, and I also threw it into the fire and burned it,” confessed Javad Rouhi in the court.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he said: “We entered the traffic police headquarters in the center of the city with a few people and threw down its stuff, and then the traffic police headquarters was set on fire.”

During the 2022 unrest in Nowshahr, Mazandaran province, where Javad Rouhi was leading a group of rioters, 5 people died and some security agents were injured.

Medical records of Javad Rouhi

On the medical record of Javad Rouhi, the health department of Nowshahr Prison announced that he had been prescribed to take methadone due to his addiction. Examining his medical file showed that he had convulsions at different intervals.

Methadone is used for the treatment of opioid use disorder. It may be used as maintenance therapy or in shorter periods to manage opioid withdrawal symptoms.

Before his arrest, he was hospitalized several times due to convulsions. In the first case, on March 15, 2017, he was hospitalized due to a decrease in consciousness following a convulsion.

Later, on November 1, 2017, he was hospitalized at the Imam Reza Hospital in Amol due to a convulsion.

He was later hospitalized in a medical center on February 10, 2021, after being poisoned with tramadol and then having a convulsion.

Tramadol is used for the short-term relief of severe pain, and it is not recommended for the treatment of chronic treatment of long-term pain. It may cause serious or life-threatening breathing problems. 

Upon his treatment on August 28, 2021, Javad Rouhi and his family said that he had several convulsions.

In his medical record and biography, Rouhi stated that he had attempted suicide.

"My client (Javad Rouhi) was taking pills due to mental illness," Javad Rouhi's lawyer stated in a conversation with the Shargh newspaper on February 19, 2023.

On the death of Javad Rouhi in the hospital, Nowshahr Prison announced that on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, Rouhi went to the health department and said that he was feeling unwell. After checking his vital signs and consulting with the prison doctor, he was prescribed diclofenac and cold pills.

Also, the doctor prescribed him oxygen therapy at 8 p.m. and Rouhi was under oxygen therapy for 15 minutes and returned to the dormitory.

According to the medical record of Rouhi, in the medical report of Nowshahr Prison, it was stated that his cellmates were advised to inform the medical officials again in case of any problems.

In the recall to the hospital at 3:30 a.m. on August 31, it was said that Rouhi was unwell and he went through a convulsion this time. Specialized medical and therapeutic procedures were carried out on him and coordination was done with the emergency department to transfer him to the hospital.

All in all, considering the court session of Rouhi and his confessions along with his medical record and the treatments carried out to rescue his life, is there any room for calling his death “suspicious”? How on earth do Western think tanks call him an “activist.” It seems Western think tanks have not done their homework well since a glance at Rouhi’s case proves that there is no excuse for aggrandizing his case and casting doubts about the cause of his death.