Leila Hossein-Zadeh, a former political prisoner and student activist, has been sentenced in absentia to imprisonment for appearing without a hijab at the University of Tehran while defending her thesis.
In a post on her personal social media page, Leila Hossein-Zadeh announced that Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court recently issued the sentence in absentia. She was accused of appearing in public spaces without a hijab and engaging in anti-regime propaganda. She stated, “I neither have hope for an appeal nor trust in legal proceedings. I will wait for the case to be referred to the enforcement of sentences.”
Recently, she also disclosed that the Forensic Medical Commission had confirmed her inability to endure imprisonment. This led to the conversion of her remaining five-year prison sentence, stemming from a 2019 case, into a fine of 100 million tomans (approximately $1,400). After paying the fine, her case was closed.
Who Is Leila Hossein-Zadeh?
Leila Hossein-Zadeh, 31, is a former political prisoner and student activist from the University of Tehran. She has been involved in advocating for student rights and other socio-political causes.
During the nationwide protests in December 2017 and January 2018, Hossein-Zadeh was arrested. After spending 16 days in detention, she was released on bail on January 18, 2018. However, Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court later sentenced her to six years in prison and a two-year travel ban for “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.”
This sentence was reduced on June 24, 2019, by the Appeals Court (Branch 36) to three and a half years in prison and a two-year travel ban. One of the cited reasons for her conviction was her attendance at a birthday gathering for Mohammad Sharifi-Moghadam, a jailed Gonabadi dervish, near Sharif University of Technology, where participants sang a protest anthem.
On July 28, 2019, security forces arrested Hossein-Zadeh at her home. After being detained for ten days in a safe house run by the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), she was transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison to serve her 30-month sentence. However, in March 2021, she was granted medical leave due to her severe Crohn’s disease, which ultimately led to her release on medical grounds.
Subsequent Arrests and Sentencing
Previously, in March 2021, Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court had sentenced her to five years in prison and a two-year ban from social media activities for “assembly and collusion with the intent to act against national security.” This ruling was upheld in December 2021 by Branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Court.
Leila Hossein-Zadeh was summoned to Evin Prison on January 8, 2022, to serve her sentence, despite being released on bail shortly before, on January 2, due to her medical condition.
Her most recent arrest occurred on August 20, 2022, when security forces violently apprehended her in front of her home in Tehran. After several months in custody, she was released on bail on January 9, 2023.
Leila Hossein-Zadeh’s relentless persecution by the Iranian regime underscores the clerical regime’s broader campaign to suppress dissent, particularly targeting women and student activists.
