Amnesty International Concerned About Continued Detention of Mahdieh Golroo

On Monday, January 29, Amnesty International issued a statement expressing concern that the detention of Mahdieh Golroo is an attempt to undermine peaceful gatherings and silence the voices of women speaking out about women's rights. The human rights organization urged recipients of the statement to send letters to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the head of the judiciary, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Ms. Golroo. The statement recommended that regular visits for Mahdieh Golroo with her family and lawyer, as well as the provision of necessary medical services, be requested from the authorities of the Islamic Republic in these letters. More than three months after a series of acid attacks in Isfahan, the perpetrators have not yet been apprehended, but Mahdieh Golroo, a member of the Women's Citizenship Association and a participant in the protest against this incident, remains in detention. She was arrested on November 25 following a peaceful and legal gathering of women activists in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Ms. Golroo spent two months in solitary confinement in Ward 2-A of Evin Prison, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and was later transferred to a shared cell with another inmate. Amnesty International has expressed concern that her detention is an attempt to undermine peaceful gatherings and silence the voices of women speaking about women's rights. According to reports, Mahdieh's case was sent to Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, on January 12. Amnesty International stated that despite hours of interrogation, Ms. Golroo has been denied access to a lawyer. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Tehran, stated on Sunday, December 28, that Mahdieh Golroo's crime is 'security-related' and he cannot comment on it. Previously, 700 civil activists inside and outside Iran wrote a letter to Hassan Rouhani, the President of the Islamic Republic, stating that 'the acid attackers are free in society while Mahdieh Golroo is detained' and urged him to use all legal means and capacities to secure Ms. Golroo's release. Mahdieh Golroo had previously been arrested on November 30, 2009, and spent nearly two years and four months in prison. Vahid Lali Pour, Mahdieh Golroo's husband, who was also arrested alongside her, was imprisoned for one year. In this context, Iranian security agencies have 'focused on undermining civil institutions.' Hundreds of civil activists wrote a letter to Rouhani: the acid attackers are free while Mahdieh Golroo is in prison.