More than 20 days have passed since the arrest of 15-year-old student Elina Validi and her parents, Hamed Validi and Fatemeh. However, no information is available about the teenager’s whereabouts or condition.
The family was detained without any clear legal justification, leaving their relatives in growing concern.
Authorities had initially promised that Elina would be transferred to a juvenile detention facility in time to take her end-of-year exams in June. That promise has not been fulfilled, and there has been no confirmation of her presence at any youth facility.
Elina Validi’s mother, Fatemeh, is reportedly being held under harsh conditions in the quarantine ward of Fardis Prison in Karaj. Sources say she has been denied basic prisoner rights, including access to phone calls, visits, and sanitary or financial support.
The greatest concern remains the status of Elina herself. Detained incommunicado during a critical stage of her development, her physical and psychological well-being is unknown. Iranian authorities have not responded to repeated family inquiries and have issued no official statement about her case.
The charge brought against the Validi family is “propaganda against the state,” a vague and overly broad accusation commonly used against political prisoners in Iran. Arrests under this charge are often carried out without credible evidence and are typically accompanied by a denial of fundamental legal rights.
The case of the Validi family, involving the forced separation of a minor from her parents and a complete lack of transparency about her detention, constitutes a blatant violation of human rights and a clear breach of international standards for the protection of children.
