We have received reports of new sentences, as well as the summons and detention of women prisoners, in Iran in May.The status of some women civil activists, including Somayeh Ramouz, Sakineh Parvaneh, Akram Rahimpour, and Zohreh Asadpour, is provided below.
Issuing sentences for women political prisoners
Sakineh Parvaneh, a political prisoner held in Qarchak Prison in Varamin, was sentenced to five years in prison and a two-year ban on membership in political groups. Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran issued the verdict on May 25, 2020.
Sakineh Parvaneh has been beaten repeatedly since her arrest and was taken to a psychiatric hospital several times. She has also been denied the right to make telephone calls or visit her with family since her arrest. Sakineh Parvaneh is currently being held in Ward 3 of Qarchak Prison in Varamin, along with those accused of drug-related crimes.
Arrest and filing of new cases against civilian women activists
Somayeh Ramooz, a 37-year-old woman from Bushehr, announced that she was being transferred to the Bushehr Intelligence Detention Center on May 23, 2020. She was arrested on May 9, 2020 by the Bushehr Intelligence Office and was detained there for two weeks. Somayeh, a hairdresser, was arrested for her activities on social media.
Bushehr intelligence officials have cautioned Somayeh’s husband against reporting Somayeh’s arrest to the media.
On May 19, 2020, Akram Rahimpour, the wife of Jafar Azimzadeh, imprisoned labor rights activist and Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Free Trade Union, received a summons. According to the summons, Akram Rahimpour must appear at the designated branch to defend herself with regard to the charges against her.
Recently, Ministry of Intelligence agents threatened Akram Rahimpour during phone calls. Jafar Azimzadeh was subsequently taken to the court with a new case.
Zohreh Asadpour , a women’s rights activist, was summoned to the Rasht Court. The women’s rights activist had previously been detained by security forces in Rasht on January 4, 2020.
