All Defendants in the International Women's Day Gathering Case in Tehran Acquitted

The defense lawyer of three individuals who were arrested during the International Women's Day gathering in Tehran last year announced on Sunday, July 31, that the primary court has acquitted all 21 defendants in this case. Zahra Minoui told ISNA news agency that one of her clients was charged with "disturbing public order" and the other two faced charges of "disturbing public order and removing the hijab," but after the court session, Branch 1180 of the Criminal Court notified her of the acquittal of her clients. According to Ms. Minoui, "All 21 defendants in this case have been acquitted of the charges against them." Benafsheh Jamali, one of the journalists arrested during the gathering, also confirmed the acquittal of all defendants on her Twitter account, stating that this is the "primary court's ruling." A number of women's rights activists intended to hold a gathering in front of the Ministry of Labor in Tehran on March 8, International Women's Day, but security forces prevented such a gathering and arrested 80 people, about 60 of whom were released a few hours later. However, 14 women were transferred to Qarchak prison and 5 men to Fashafouyeh prison. These individuals were released a few days later, but some reported facing charges of "acting against national security." Among the detainees were names such as Shahla Entesari, Zohreh Asadpour, Ali Salem, Soudeh Rakhsh, Benafsheh Jamali, Javad Abbasi Toleli, Marzieh Amiri, Zahra Ahmadi, Atefeh Khosravi, Azadeh Behkish, Mahshid Asadpour, Zahra Ayati, Ayna Qotbi Yaghoubi, Bahar Aslani, Peyman Chehraz, Mehrdad Ghazi, Moloud Hajizadeh, Masoumeh Akbari, and Ali Afsunegar. The organizers of the March 8 gathering in Tehran stated that they held this gathering in protest against "inequality, injustice, and the unfavorable conditions of women, especially in the labor market," as well as to express dissatisfaction with "the dire situation of women and the violation of their human and social rights." In recent years, security forces have prevented gatherings on International Women's Day. In 2006, around 60 people were arrested during a gathering requested by women's activists in Haft Tir Square in Tehran. In 2005, before the presidential elections, a gathering of women's activists was held in front of Tehran University.