Arrest of a Citizen Along with Her Young Children in Isfahan; Maryam Mehrabi's Brother: She is Just Seeking Justice

Maryam Mehrabi, a teacher residing in Isfahan and sister of Mahmoud Mehrabi, a political prisoner sentenced to death, was arrested on Tuesday, June 18, along with her young daughters in Isfahan. Mahaan Mehrabi, another brother of Maryam, wrote on social media platform X that agents from the intelligence agency that arrested her and her children confiscated all her electronic devices, including her laptop and mobile phones. He emphasized that she has done nothing but seek justice, stating to the media, "Be our voice. My sister Maryam is just a seeker of justice." There is currently no information available about their place of detention. Hajar Mehrabi, Maryam and Mahmoud's sister, provided explanations in a video sent to Voice of America. She mentioned that Maryam was arrested at her home along with her children, saying, "Today, the judge told my sister in court that because you spoke in a video about self-immolation in front of Ayatollah Dolatabadi's house, your behavior is propaganda against the regime." Additionally, the human rights media organization HRANA reported that there is no information about the location of Maryam Mehrabi and her children. Maryam was previously arrested in Esfand 1401 while "pursuing her brother Mahmoud Mehrabi's case" by agents of an intelligence agency at the prosecutor's office in Mobarakeh County and was detained for three days in the Dolatabad prison in Isfahan before being released on bail. She was also sentenced to "74 lashes and three months in prison" in Shahrivar 1402 by the 102nd branch of the Mobarakeh Criminal Court. This sentence was later converted to a "monetary fine." Mahmoud Mehrabi, the detained protester, was sentenced to death by the fifth branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Isfahan in Ordibehesht due to his activities on social media. Although the Mizan news agency, the media outlet of the judiciary, previously denied the issuance of a death sentence for Mahmoud due to his social media activities, it explained that the content of Mahmoud's case was based on "the publication of materials" on social media, claiming that these materials included "instructions on the use of homemade weapons, calls for the destruction of public property, inciting people to war and killing, and insulting the sacred." Previously, a group of United Nations experts, including Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Jill Edwards, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and Morris Tidball-Binz, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, issued a statement calling for the immediate cancellation of Mahmoud Mehrabi's death sentence and urged the Iranian government to stop issuing death sentences against individuals for expressing their opinions. Hajar Mehrabi, another sister of the condemned protester, previously told Voice of America that Mahmoud was in Vienna but "returned to Iran" and "stood with empty hands and resisted" to be "the voice of the people."