Maryam Zubaidi, a 58-year-old resident of the Zeytoon neighborhood in Ahvaz, was arrested on Saturday, November 1, 2025, after being summoned to the Enforcement Branch of the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court. She was immediately transferred to Sepidar Prison. This is while Maryam Zubaidi suffers from severe respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses, and her health condition is described as critical.
Maryam Zubaidi had reportedly appeared at the court believing she was attending a routine administrative procedure related to her case. However, she was detained on the spot without prior notice and transferred directly to the women’s ward of Sepidar Prison.
Officials from the Enforcement Branch have refused to provide any explanation regarding the reason for her re-arrest. According to sources close to her family, this development follows the final approval of her four-year prison sentence earlier in October.
Background and Judicial Proceedings
Maryam Zubaidi was first arrested on March 15, 2018, by agents of the Ahvaz Intelligence Department. She was held for months in the agency’s detention center, where she was subjected to interrogation and psychological pressure. The Revolutionary Court of Ahvaz later sentenced her to four years in prison on charges of “acting against national security” and “communication with foreign entities.” After years of uncertainty, the Khuzestan Court of Appeal upheld the sentence in October 2025.
Torture, Illness, and Denial of Medical Care
During her detention in 2018, Maryam Zubaidi was subjected to prolonged interrogations and psychological torture. Due to unsanitary detention conditions, she developed severe respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases. Throughout her imprisonment, she repeatedly requested transfer to specialized medical facilities, but prison authorities ignored these requests.
Local sources confirm that the Sepidar Prison infirmary provides only basic medication and lacks specialized medical care. Zubaidi had previously been released twice on bail due to deteriorating health conditions, yet nearly eight months of her previous detention were not deducted from her final sentence.
A Family Under Constant Pressure
Maryam Zubaidi is the mother of three children, two sons, Benyamin and Mohammad-Ali Albughbeish, and a daughter. In March 2018, security forces raided their home, arresting the mother and two sons. Benyamin Albughbeish died under torture in prison in July 2019. Mohammad-Ali was later released on bail but has since faced repeated threats of re-arrest. Following Maryam’s latest imprisonment, her daughter is now left without parental support in Ahvaz.
Unanswered Complaints and Impunity for Agents
Over the years, the Zubaidi family has filed multiple complaints regarding the violations of Maryam’s rights, from illegal interrogations and torture to medical neglect in Sepidar Prison. However, none of these complaints have resulted in action.
According to a family source, “The complaint file against the security agents never moved beyond the preliminary stage. The prosecutor’s office even refused to hold a session to hear the plaintiffs’ statements.”
The sudden re-arrest and transfer of Maryam Zubaidi to Sepidar Prison represents yet another instance of the Iranian regime’s systematic repression of women, particularly members of religious minorities and Arab mothers in Khuzestan.