A report on the arrest and sentencing of 7 women in Iran during May 2026
The Iranian regime’s apparatus of repression has accelerated once again as the state grapples with a profound crisis of legitimacy and an enduring fear of another nationwide uprising. A closer examination of the recent massive arrests, severe judicial sentences, and the prolonged, indefinite holding of protesters reveals a distinct security strategy: the systematic arrest of women and teenage girls, who represent the progressive core of society, to enforce preemptive public intimidation.
Security agencies are deploying arbitrary arrests and denying detainees the right to due process, deliberately weaponizing indefinite detention as a form of psychological torture. Beyond exerting double the pressure on political prisoners, this approach purposefully targets the psychological stability and welfare of their families to maximize the cost of any civic activism. Recent admissions of mass arrests by senior military and law enforcement officials further testify to the fact that the ruling establishment views society as a powder keg ready to explode.
Detention of English Teacher Forouzan Eslami in Urmia
In a continuation of the crackdown on society, the regime’s security forces arrested Forouzan Eslami, a Kurdish English language teacher, in the city of Urmia on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. The arrest was executed without a judicial warrant, and she was subsequently transferred to an undisclosed location. Days after her arbitrary detention, no information has been disclosed regarding the reasons for her arrest, the charges against her, or her current place of confinement, which has heightened concerns over her physical well-being.
Four Months of Detention for Maryam Nouri in Mashhad
Maryam Nouri, detained during the nationwide uprising in January, remains in indefinite detention and is deprived of the right to a fair trial. She is currently being held in the Aramesh Ward of Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, nearly four months after her arrest on January 14, 2026. Her detention occurred just days after her husband, Ashkan Torabzadeh, was shot and killed by state forces on January 9 while inside his personal vehicle. Judicial authorities in Mashhad are deliberately refusing to issue bail for the temporary release of this grieving wife seeking justice.
Heavy Sentence for Zahra Mousvi in Mashhad
In a retaliatory ruling, the Iranian judiciary has sentenced Zahra Mousavi, a 21-year-old Iranian-Afghan citizen arrested during the nationwide uprising on January 20, 2026, to a total of 10 years and 6 months in prison. This includes 4 years of mandatory imprisonment and 6 years and 6 months of a suspended sentence.
Her charges are listed as organizing a group and inciting individuals to disrupt national security. In addition to this sentence, which is being served in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, security agencies have revoked her Iranian identity documents. They have threatened this young woman, who was born in Iran and served as the primary provider for her family, with denationalization and deportation.
Ghazal Marzban Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison in Tehran
Ghazal Marzban, a 37-year-old woman, has been sentenced by the Tehran Revolutionary Court to 9 years and 8 months in prison. This heavy sentence comes after her arrest in the middle of the night on January 15, 2026, during a raid on her Tehran home by the Intelligence Organization of Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Following her arrest, she was subjected to severe pressure to extract forced confessions. Security agents have threatened her that the standard law on combining concurrent sentences will not apply to her case, meaning she must serve the full duration of each term. Her charges include assembly and collusion, inciting bloodshed, and propaganda against the state.
Indefinite Detention of Mandana and Mahsa Sotoudeh in Shiraz
The systematic deprivation of liberty and religious persecution of minorities in Shiraz continues with the ongoing 50 day indefinite detention of two Baha’i sisters, 25-year-old Mahsa Sotoudeh and 38-year-old Mandana Sotoudeh.
The two sisters were arrested in separate operations by Revolutionary Guard intelligence in late March and early April 2026, without the presentation of legal warrants. They were transferred to the women’s ward of Adelabad Prison in Shiraz, where they are being held in isolation from one another. Continuous inquiries by the Sotoudeh family to ascertain the charges and condition of their daughters have yielded no results.
Unknown Fate of Asti Mohammadi in Bukan
Ten days after the arrest of Asti Mohammadi, a 67-year-old Kurdish woman in the city of Bukan, her health status and exact location remain entirely unknown. Ministry of Intelligence forces raided her family home and arrested her without a judicial warrant. During the raid, state agents searched the entire house and confiscated personal items, including her mobile phone and books.
The complete cutoff of communication has sparked deep anxiety for her family regarding the medical well-being of this elderly citizen.
Chief of Police Admits to Mass Arrests
Confirming the ruling establishment’s deep anxiety over the public’s revolutionary potential, Ahmadreza Radan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian State Security Force, publicly admitted to the massive scale of the repression on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Speaking on the thousands of individuals detained in recent months, Radan sought to intimidate society by claiming that more than 6,500 people have been arrested since the launch of the regime’s latest confrontational security initiatives. This alarming statistic underscores the vast scope of human rights violations and highlights the regime’s profound fear of an impending nationwide uprising.
