Nearly two months after her arrest, Maryam Delbari — a writer and former head of the Abadan Art Bureau — remains arbitrarily detained in Shiraz’s Adelabad Prison, with no transparent legal process in sight.
A cultural figure and outspoken political critic, Maryam Delbari was arrested on May 7, 2025, by security forces and interrogated at a Ministry of Intelligence facility under charges of “propaganda against the state.” She was later transferred to prison.
Her detention sparked a protest by a group of her students outside the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention center in Shiraz. However, not only were these protests ignored, but Delbari’s interrogation and transfer to prison reportedly involved intimidation and pressure.
Since her imprisonment, Maryam Delbari has been suffering from serious health conditions, including internal bleeding, a breast tumor, a throat mass, and kidney stones.
Despite repeated requests for medical care, her access to treatment has been delayed or insufficient. In her most recent medical visit, a prison doctor declared her breast tumor “benign” without conducting an ultrasound or any specialized testing, and postponed her next examination until November — a decision that contradicts prior recommendations by her outside specialist, who advised imaging every three months.
This is not Maryam Delbari’s first encounter with state repression. In 2019, she was sentenced to 18 months in prison and two years of forced service at a religious seminary for her cultural activities — a sentence that was later suspended.
