Ex-Iranian political prisoner ‘knocked out by police riot shield at London protest’

A former political prisoner felt like she was ‘back in Iran’ after Met Police officers ‘knocked her out with a shield’ at a protest.

Nasrin Roshan, 62, was at a rally outside the Iranian Embassy in London when the police clashed with protesters on Sunday.

The pro-democracy activist was knocked out before being taken to hospital, where she stayed until 5am on Monday.

The campaigner claims she has been left with chest pain and no energy, and says she’s been devastated by the police’s handling of the protest.

Nasrin Roshan told Metro: ‘It was horrible. I felt like I was in Iran. I could not speak until four o’clock in the hospital.

‘I told the police “shame on you”. It makes me very, very upset.’

She was in the front row of protesters outside the Iranian embassy at around 5pm on Sunday night, when a man climbed onto the embassy and tore down the flag of the regime.

It was a day after another demonstrator went viral for climbing onto the balcony and replacing the flag with Iran’s pre-revolutionary one.

Ms Roshan, who spent a total of five and a half years in Iranian prisons since the age of 18, was in the crowd as other protestors tried to help the man ‘get away’.

She then claimed: ‘The police attacked with batons and other things. I think a police shield hit my head and I fell to the floor.’

Metro has obtained footage of police officers in riot gear holding batons and shields, swinging at protesters to force them back behind metal railings.

Ms Roshan insisted she ‘tried nothing’ with police and remained behind the metal railings.

The mum said she lost consciousness after being struck before waking up on the road, where she was treated by paramedics.

An ambulance arrived 45 minutes later and took her to hospital, where she stayed until 5am.

‘They hurt me a lot,’ Ms Roshan – who is calling on the police to apologise – told Metro.

She added: ‘I cannot believe the police would do that do. I do not feel like I am in the UK, in a democratic country.

‘I cannot believe the police would do that do. You are told you are safe when you enter this country. But I am not safe.

‘I want to complain, they have to apologise.

‘I am still feeling emotional pain because of my experience in jail in Iran.’

The political activist was first locked up in Iran for four years at the age of 18.

She moved to the UK in 2000 until she was arrested at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport in November 2023 after visiting her family.

An Iranian court sentenced her to four years on charges of ‘assembly and collusion’ but was released after one and a half years.

She described her recent time in Israeli jail as ‘mental torture’.

Ms Roshan added: ‘It was a horrible experience. They did not give me my medication. They forced me to use their medication, but we could not trust it.

‘They did not give good quality of food. We did not have access to medical aid. They took us into isolation.’

The campaigner now actively participates in protests against the Iranian regime, which is facing widespread protests amongst its own people.

Human rights observers said that 490 protesters and 48 security personnel have been killed so far, along with over 10,000 arrests.

A Met spokesperson told Metro: ‘We’re aware that a woman sustained injuries during a protest outside the Iranian Embassy on the afternoon of Sunday, 11 January.

‘She was attended to by officers and paramedics, and was taken to hospital, where her injuries were found to be non-life changing and non-life threatening.

‘Officers carried out a review of available footage to try to determine how she sustained her injuries, but it was inconclusive. We’re not aware of any complaint being made in relation to the incident.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Comments Add as preferred source