On October 11, Maryam Akbari Monfared completed her 15-year prison sentence, but she remains behind bars due to the enforcement of a new two-year sentence. This extension means the political prisoner, who is the second longest-held female political detainee in Iran, will continue her incarceration.

Akbari Monfared’s lawyer, Hossein Taj, commented on the situation: “After 15 years of imprisonment with exile and not a single day of furlough, my client’s sentence ended. Over the years, several cases were initiated against her, most of which ended in acquittal. However, the latest case, presented without evidence, resulted in a two-year sentence. According to the law, the new sentence should be served in Tehran.”

Akbari Monfared was arrested on December 31, 2009, following the Ashura protests, demonstrations that erupted in response to the disputed results of the 2009 presidential election. In June 2010, she was sentenced by Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, led by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, to 15 years in prison. She was charged with “enmity against God (Moharebeh)” for alleged membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, an accusation she has consistently denied.

On March 9, 2021, Akbari Monfared was transferred from Evin Prison to Semnan Prison, where she has been held in the general ward. Her detention conditions violate the principle of separating prisoners based on the nature of their crimes, and she has had limited access to health facilities.

In July 2022, two new cases were brought against her in the courts of Evin and Semnan. A year later, in July 2023, her lawyer confirmed that she had been sentenced to an additional two years in prison by the Revolutionary Court.

Akbari Monfared’s family has a history of political persecution. Two of her brothers were executed in 1981 and 1984 by Iran’s Revolutionary Courts for alleged membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran. In 1988, her younger brother and sister were also executed during the mass killings of political prisoners.

A mother of three daughters, Maryam Akbari Monfared now holds the position of the second longest-serving female political prisoner in Iran, following Zeinab Jalalian.