The clerical regime continues to arrest and detain activists and hand down prison sentences for them.
As dissenting voices persist in Iran, the clerical regime’s oppressive tactics continue to target activists, stifling their advocacy for change. Recent developments shed light on the ongoing crackdown on individuals striving for human rights, freedom of expression, and gender equality.
Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced Tahereh Naghiee, the Secretary General of the Iranian Teachers’ Organization, to six months in prison, payment of fines, a ban on leaving the country, and other social deprivations, according to reports published on August 15, 2023.
Her six-month time in prison is suspended for five years. Ms. Naghiee is charged with “propaganda against the state.” Her trial had been held on June 11, 2023.
Tahereh Naghiee is an activist teacher, who formerly taught in high schools of Tehran’s 5th district.
Kurdish journalist, Nazila Maroofian, was violently arrested on Monday, August 14, and transferred to Qarchak Prison, where she went on a dry hunger strike.
She had referred to the Police Station to receive her cell phone when one of the officers punched her in the back of her head. Her mother who was accompanying her, objected to police action, but he said, “We want to kill her just like we killed Mahsa Amini.”
She had been temporarily released on a bail of 300 million Tomans from Evin Prison just the day before, Sunday, August 13.
On Saturday, August 5, 2023, Nazila Maroufian was transferred from Evin Prison to Taleghani Hospital in Tehran due to “nervous and psychological stress and rapid heartbeat.” After a few hours of hospitalization, she was returned to Evin Prison.
Nazila Maroofian was released on Wednesday, August 16, from Qarchak Prison.
Nine women’s rights activists were arrested in Rasht, Bandar Anzali, Lahijan, and Fouman, in the northern Gilan Province. Those arrested are Zahra Dadras, Zohreh Dadras, Negin Rezaii, Matin Yazdani, Forough Saminia, Jelveh Javaheri, Vahedeh Khosh-sirat, Shiva Shah-Siah, and Yasamin Hashdari. They have been transferred to an undisclosed location.
Two students of architectural engineering, two sisters, Zarian and Zilan Malaii were arrested at their home in Sanandaj by security forces, on Sunday, August 13.
In the meantime, Donya Hosseini called her family on Tuesday, August 15, and informed them that she had been transferred to the Evin Prison.
Ms. Hosseini was arrested by Tehran’s security forces on Saturday, August 12, 2023.
Donya Hosseini, 35, resides in Tehran. She was arrested in November 2022 for taking part in the protests but was released after some time. She is accused of “propaganda against the state and in favor of opposition groups and organizations.”
Bahar Ahmadi was arrested in Sanandaj on Saturday, August 12. Security forces raided her residence and arrested her without providing a legal warrant. Ms. Ahmadi is detained by the Department of Intelligence of Sanandaj and deprived of access to her medications
Her husband, As’ad Mohammadi, was arrested three weeks ago on July 24, 2023, and there is no accurate information available on his fate. He is deprived of access to a lawyer and of visiting his family.
Branch 107 of the Criminal Court 2 of Khorramabad sentenced a wrestling coach and referee to one year in prison. Massoumeh Soleimani, 36, was arrested in Khorramabad on May 10, 2023, on the charge of “inciting violence in cyberspace.” She was released on bail on May 14 from the detention center of the Intelligence Department.
Massoumeh Soleimani is a coach and a referee for women’s wrestling who had been previously arrested.
Yalda Dehghani has been in detention at Lakan Prison of Rasht, for more than one month, without standing trial. Prison authorities refuse to release her on bail and have extended her detention.
Ms. Dehghani was arrested by security forces at her home in Bandar Anzali in early July. There is no information available on the charges against her and the reasons for her arrest.
Hanieh Daemi, the sister of former political prisoner Atena Daemi, has also been summoned through a phone call on August 14 to the Intelligence Police. It is not clear why she has been summoned. Hanieh Daemi had been arrested temporarily during the protests last year.
These cases exemplify the harrowing challenges that activists in Iran endure as they navigate a landscape of suppression and resistance. They paint a somber picture of a nation grappling with dissent and a regime determined to quash it.
