Three Women’s Rights Activists Arrested to Serve Prison Sentences

On Wednesday, July 17, Hooman Taheri, Sara Jahani, and Yasamin Heshdari, three women’s rights activists in Gilan, were arrested and transferred to Lakan Prison in Rasht after reporting to the Enforcement of Judgments department.

A source close to one of the activists’ families confirmed this news to HRANA, saying, “These individuals were summoned to the Enforcement of Judgments department of the Rasht Prosecutor’s Office simultaneously with the arrest of Zahra (Fatemeh) Dadras on July 10.”
The case of these individuals, along with eight other women’s rights activists in Gilan named Forough Saminia, Zahra (Fatemeh) Dadras, Zahra Dadras, Shiva Shah-Siah, Negin Rezaei, Azadeh Chavoshian, Matin Yazdani, and Jelveh Javaheri, was referred to the Enforcement of Judgments department in late June this year.

These eleven women’s rights activists were separately arrested by security forces in Gilan on August 16 and 17, 2023. Zahra Dadras was released on bail from Lakan Prison on September 17 of last year, and Zohreh Dadras was released on October 1 of the same year.

On February 29, 2024, a court session was held to address the charges against them in a joint case at Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court of Rasht, presided over by Judge Mehdi Rasekhi. Their initial verdicts were issued by this branch in early March of this year.

Their sentences were confirmed on May 28 of this year by Branch 11 of the Gilan Provincial Court of Appeal, presided over by Judge Mohammad Sadegh Iran Agideh.

According to the issued verdict, Zohreh Dadras was sentenced to nine years, six months, and two days in prison for “forming a group to disrupt national security” and “assembly and collusion against national security.” Zahra Dadras was sentenced to six years, one month, and seventeen days in prison for “membership in a group and assembly and collusion with the intent to disrupt national security.”

Additionally, other defendants in this case were also sentenced to prison. Farough Samiei Nia, Sara Jahani, Yasmin Hashdari, Shiva Shah Siah, Negin Rezaei, Azadeh Chavooshian, and Matin Yazdani were each sentenced to six years, one month, and seventeen days in prison, while Jelveh Javaheri and Hooman Taheri were each sentenced to one year for “propaganda against the regime.”

Additional Four Individuals Detained in Gilan Province

In a recent development on Wednesday, August 16, security forces apprehended Shiva Shah Siah, Vahedeh Khoshsirat, Hooman Taheri, and Sara Jahani in Gilan Province.

This event follows HRANA’s report of the arrest of seven women’s rights activists on the same day within the province.

Khoshsirat and Shah Siah, both advocates for women’s rights, were taken into custody in Lahijan. Meanwhile, Mr. Taheri and Mrs. Jahani were apprehended separately in Rasht.

The precise reasons underlying their detentions, their current locations, and the specific charges brought against them all remain undisclosed at this juncture.