According to a UN Special Rapporteur, six Iranian women rights advocates who are serving lengthy prison sentences, reportedly faced torture and threats of rape and death when they were violently detained.
Publishing the news in a post on X, Mary Lawlor, the UN expert on Human Rights Defenders, called on Iranian authorities to release the women immediately.
Dubbed as the “Gilan 2023 Case” by observers, the activists were arbitrarily sentenced and subsequently transferred to Lakan prison this past Saturday, located in the province of Gilan in northwestern Iran.
Alongside five other activists, these six women’s summary sentences were upheld on May 28. They were sentenced to serve over 60 years in prison collectively.
Forough Saminia, Shiva Shahsiah, Negin Rezaei, Azadeh Chavoshian, and Matin Yazdani have each been sentenced to six years in prison. Jelveh Javaheri, on the other hand, received a one-year sentence.
The other activists sentenced include Zohreh Dadras, Zahra Dadras, Sara Jahani, Yasmin Hashdari and Houman Taheri.
Tagging the Iranian state’s Permanent Mission to the UN, Lawlor also called on the authorities to end the suppression of women human rights defenders in the country.
Women rights defenders charged with ‘disrupting national security’
Local rights group, Hyrcani Human Rights Media previously reported that the arrests of the six women rights defenders were made without an official summons notice and only by phone announcement.
Charges against the activists include "membership in organizations that aim to disrupt national security" and "assembly and collusion to act against national security."
According to the human rights group, Front Line Defenders their activism included advocating for various human rights issues including women’s rights, children's rights, and access to health and education in a healthy and enabling environment.
In May this year, Branch 11 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court of Appeals, headed by Judge Mohammad Sadegh Iran Aghideh, confirmed the verdicts of all the defendants in this case without holding a court session, according to Bidarzani.
Last week, on July 10, 2024, two of the activists, Zahra Dadras and Zohreh Dadras, were arrested without prior summons or notice and transferred to Lakan Prison to serve their prison sentences.
The eleven activists in this case were first detained during mid-August 2023 raids at their residences.
They were kept in solitary confinement, with their location undisclosed due to being denied legal representation and limited phone communication.
They were ultimately released on bail from Lakan prison on various dates between September 16 and October 1, 2024.