Women’s Movement Activists in Detention in Iran

Feminist School :Nearly 50 days have passed since Iran’s presidential election. Regrettably some women such as: Neda Agha Soltan , Fatemeh Rajab Pour and her daughter were killed and many women have beaten or arrested . Some women’s rights activists were arrested from their home or on the way to join demonstrators, at this stage it is not clear as to how many women have been killed or arrested but what is clear that detained women activists are in great numbers.

There is no indication or news release of Elaheh Imanian , Zahra Tohidi , Maryam Zolfaghar , Sara Mahboubi , Marjan Fayazi , Sogand Alikhah and ...who had been arrested before. However some of the movement’s activists like Maryam Ameri , Farnaz Kamali, Zeynab Peyghambarzadeh , Minoo Kiyaman ,Sara Sabaghiyan , Mohammad Mostafaei , Shadi Sadr and Mahnaz Mohammadi were arrested and then released again. It is clear that some of the of the well-known women rights activists like :Zhila Bani Yaghoub and her husband Bahman Ahmadi amouee , Shiva Nazar Ahari , Kaveh Mozafari and some women journalists like Mahsa Amrabadi , Hengameh Shahidi and ... are still in prison.

Arrest of women’s movement activists started the day after the election

Jila Bani Yaghoub and Bahman Ahmadi Amouei were Arrested on June 20, 2009

More than one month has passed since Jila and her husband’s arrest. Jila a journalist and a women’s rights activist was arrested on June 20 along with her journalist husband Bahman , at their home by intelligence service and transferred to Evin prison.

Jila’s mother states that Jila has always been high spirited but physically she is frail and I am very worried about her, these days have transformed my life by waiting by the phone and have nightmares that terrible things might happen to my daughter and son in law. I am worried for all the young people who are arrested they are all my children.

Jila is the editor in chief of Focus an Iranian women web site, the web site was launched 4 years ago and since then regularly has worked on women’s issues in order to support their rights.

Her husband Bahman Ahmadi Amouei had been arrested once before during a women’s assembly in 7th of Tir sq. on June 12, 2006 he was sentenced to 6 months of suspended imprisonment .
They both are still in jail .

Shadi Sadr was arrested on July 19 and then released on July 28

Shadi Sadr who was on her way to the Friday prayers with some of her colleagues in Women’s Field Web site was forcefully dragged into a waiting car (Peugeot). Plain Clothes forces used such force that her head scarf and Islamic overcoat was torn off. Her friends and colleagues who witnessed the abduction said they tried to intervene but were met with violent force and Sadr was dragged away. They also report of another car acting as back up.

Shadi Sadr is a well known lawyer who has a reputation for wining her cases Shadi is one of the founding members of campaign against stoning and has managed to convince some of the law makers to consider the punishment without the stoning.

Shiva Nazar Ahari was arrested on June 14 ,2009

Shiva Nazar Ahari a women and human rights activist ,blogger and journalist, was arrested on June 14 by intelligence services officials from her office, the night before the arrest the officials searched her home and confiscated her personal belongings on her absence . She had been arrested once before on August 14 ,2004 at an assembly in front of the UN ’s office in Tehran she was sentenced to 1 year of suspended imprisonment for 5 years.

Shiva called her family on July 19 and stated that she has been transferred to the general section of the prison ward no.209, she also mentioned that Jila Baniyaghoub and 2 others are in the same prison cell. She also stated that the time of her release is unclear. Her mother ,Mrs Shahrzad Kariman, has presented a letter to human rights commission and citizen’s rights center of judiciary in the past days to pursue her case for her release.

Kaveh Mozafari was arrested on July 9 , 2009

Kaveh Mozafari was arrested by security forces near his home. Kaveh was accompanying his mother in law, Ms. Bayat, who was ill and was being accompanied by Kaveh to the Mostafa Khomeini Hospital located in Italia Street.

Ms. Bayat stated that all routes were closed because of the July 9th (18 Tir)protests and they were not able to reach the hospital and had to return and on the way back home plain-clothes forces arrested Kaveh. Ms. Bayat was very ill and asked the officers to release Kaveh, but they paid no attention instead they said "this person is Kaveh Mozaffari and has been identified" and then took him to one of the vans stationed to transport the arrested protester. According to Ms. Bayat they threatened to arrest her too.

Kaveh Mozafari, a women’s rights activist and a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign, had been released from Evin prison on June 25th, after 54 days of detention with a bail of $50,000.

women’s journalists and student’s activists are among arrestments...

Mahsa Amrabadi and her husband another journalist couple

Mahsa Amrabadi was arrested on June 14 , 2009 at her home , her husband was not at home and they arrested her instead of her husband.some days later her husband Hussein Bastani introduced himself to the revolutionary court . they arrested him too . Mahsa is pregnant and she is in Evin prison ward no. 209 .

Hengameh Shahidi was arrested on June 30 , 2009

Hengameh shahidi is a member of central council of Etemad e Melli party in Tehran province, she was arrested on June 30 .she is still in prison and she has not contacted her family for the last 3 weeks.

Somayeh Nosrati was arrested on June 22 and relesed on July 31

She is a journalist who was arrested in her home . her husband said : officials confiscated their passport , national identity card and other personal belongings . she was released after 40 days on July 31.

Zahra Tohidi and her husband , two student activists were arrested

Zahra Tohidi and her husband , Alireza khoshbakht , students with star and activists , both arrested from their home on June 18 . official searched their home for more than 3 hours.

They are both still in prison .

Somayeh Tohidloo , student of sociology and blogger ,was arrested on June 14

She was arrested on June 14. she is also part of canvasing team for Mousavi, she was arrested from her home. she is still in prison .

Mahnaz Mohammadi was arrested on July 30 ,and released after some hours

Mahnaz was arrested in behesht e Zahra cemetery on July 30 ,and some hours later was released .