Aras Amiri, London-based Student, Arrested in Tehran

According to reports, Aras Amiri, a 32-year-old cultural activist and master's student at Kingston University in the UK, was arrested on March 14, 2018, by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and is currently imprisoned in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Mohsen Omrani, Amiri's cousin who lives in the US, stated in an interview with Radio Farda that she had traveled to Amol to visit her grandmother and was arrested in Tehran on the day she intended to return to the UK. Omrani mentioned that on the evening of March 14, 2018, Amiri was in a car with several friends when a security vehicle stopped them and arrested her. He said that during this time, Amiri has had meetings and phone calls with her family but did not disclose any details about her arrest or potential interrogations. According to Omrani, Amiri's family was not informed of the reason for her arrest, and the only charges typically raised in such cases, such as 'collusion and conspiracy against national security,' have been mentioned. Reports indicate that Amiri has been living in London for the past ten years and is studying art philosophy at the master's level. She has also worked at the British Council and collaborated on exhibitions, film festivals, and cultural events between Iran and the UK. Exhibitions such as 'Memory of the Future: Post-Revolutionary Art in Iran' and 'Breakfast in Tehran: Women in Contemporary Iran' are among those Amiri has helped organize in the UK. Omrani tweeted that all these activities were coordinated with the Iranian Ministry of Culture. Aras Amiri's parents reside in Amol, and she traveled to Iran on March 9, 2018, to visit her grandmother, who was hospitalized in Amol. In recent years, several Iranians living abroad have been arrested and imprisoned after returning to Iran. In the most recent case, Abbas Adalat, an Iranian-British citizen and professor of mathematics and computer science at Imperial College London, was arrested about two weeks ago at a relative's home in Tehran while attending a workshop and was transferred to Evin Prison. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, confirmed Adalat's arrest and mentioned that the reason for his arrest was 'security-related' without providing further details. In addition to Abbas Adalat, at least two other Iranian-British citizens named Kamal Foroughi and Nazanin Zaghari are imprisoned in Iran.