Calls for an Investigation into the Suspicious Death of Sara Tabrizi after her Detention by the Ministry of Intelligence
The NCRI Women’s Committee condemns the conviction of 11 political prisoners, including 10 women, to long prison terms, and calls for an investigation into the suspicious death of Sara Tabrizi after her detention by the Ministry of Intelligence.
According to government media reports, the prisoners were sentenced to between 6 and 9.5 years in prison by Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht. They were arrested on August 16, 2023, in the cities of Rasht, Lahijan, Anzali, and Fooman. At the time, the regime’s Intelligence Department in Gilan Province announced the arrest of a 12-member team “that was planning and acting to foment unrest and sabotage on the anniversary of the riots of the past fall” (state-run ISNA news agency, August 17, 2023).
According to the verdicts, Zohreh Dadras was sentenced to 9.5 years in prison for “forming a group and assembly and collusion with the intent to disrupt national security.” The other 10 prisoners were each sentenced to more than 6 years in prison. The last defendant was acquitted.
The NCRI Women’s Committee strongly condemns the issuance of these criminal sentences by the judiciary of the misogynist clerical regime. It calls on the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, the UN Fact-Finding Mission, and other human rights defenders to take immediate action to secure the release of political prisoners, especially women.
The Women’s Committee also calls for an international investigation into the suspicious death of Sara Tabrizi, a young woman who was found dead at her father’s house a while after being arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence. In recent years, a significant number of political prisoners and prisoners of the uprising have died suspiciously after being released.
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) – Women’s Committee
March 30, 2024
