Atifeh Rangriz, Women's Rights Activist, Arrested Again

Atifeh Rangriz, a women's rights activist, was arrested on Saturday, July 9, after attending a session at the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Damghan and was transferred to Shahroud prison. According to human rights sources, the reason for summoning this women's rights activist to the first branch of the Damghan Revolutionary Court was to address charges of 'forming a group with the intent to undermine national security,' 'propaganda against the regime,' and 'spreading falsehoods in cyberspace.' Ms. Rangriz has been arrested and imprisoned several times due to her activities. She was last arrested on September 10 of last year in Damghan and was released 40 days later on October 20 with a bail of one billion tomans. Zahra (Fatemeh) Dadras, one of the convicted in the case of 11 civil and women's rights activists in Gilan, was recently sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison on charges including 'forming a group with the aim of undermining national security.' In this case, 11 civil activists from Gilan were sentenced to over 60 years in prison. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller described these sentences as 'unjust' and 'an attempt to intimidate and silence activists' and condemned them strongly. Sentences totaling over 60 years for Gilan activists were sent to the execution branch of the Rasht court. Zahra Dadras, a civil activist sentenced to prison, reported pressure and torture during her detention. Zhina Modarres-Gorji, a journalist and women's rights activist, was sentenced to 21 years in prison. In a recent report by the PEN America Association, Iran maintained its rank as the largest prison for women writers in the world.