Nasimeh Eslam-Zahi, a Sunni defendant facing security charges, remains in a state of uncertainty in the women’s ward of Evin Prison despite being detained for over eleven months.

Based on HRANA’s information, Ms. Eslam-Zahi and her husband have been held without trial for more than eleven months in Evin Prison. They were charged in August-September of 2023 in the prosecutor’s office with suspicion of “membership in the militant group ISIS,” but no court hearing has been held for them. Additionally, the couple has not had any in-person visits since their arrest.

A source close to the family of the couple confirmed this news to HRANA, saying, “About three months ago, Nasimeh gave birth to her second child in prison. Her first child, Aisha, who is about two years old and was with them at the time of their arrest, has been handed over to welfare services and is being cared for there. Despite requests, Aisha has not been returned to Nasimeh or her family.”

In August-September last year, Ms. Eslam-Zahi, along with her husband and child, was arrested in Malard and transferred to Zahedan for interrogation. Security forces reported that they were in possession of weapons at the time of their arrest.

Ms. Eslam-Zahi and her husband were charged in the Sistan and Baluchestan Province Prosecutor’s Office in September 2023 and then transferred to Evin Prison.

Eslam-Zahi, approximately 40 years old, spent three months in solitary confinement in the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility known as Ward 209 of Evin Prison and another three months in shared cells in the same detention facility. Finally, on March 4, 2024, she was transferred to the women’s ward of this prison.

Previously, an informed source without knowledge of the identity of Ms. Eslam-Zahi’s husband told HRANA, “Nasimeh’s husband is originally from the Kurdish provinces and is being held in one of the shared rooms in Ward 209 of Evin Prison.”