Continued Detention of 12 Civil Activists in Gilan; 'Night Interrogations' Ongoing

A week after the detention of 12 women's rights activists and political activists in various cities of Gilan, reports indicate that despite 'oral explanations from the prosecutor's office' regarding 'the issuance of bail orders', their families 'do not even have the case numbers of the detainees.' In this context, the mother of one of the detainees states she does not know why her child was detained or by which agency, and has had no news from them since last Thursday. According to 'Bidarzani', a media outlet of a group of women's rights activists, two representatives of the families of the detainees in Gilan visited the prosecutor's office on Tuesday, where the prosecutor, without mentioning names or further details, stated that 'until September 25', a 'one-month detention order has been issued' for eight of the detainees, while four others 'are awaiting the posting of bail.' There are concerns regarding the accuracy of the prosecutor's statements and the 'lack of enforceable guarantees', while judicial officials are 'deliberately delaying' the delivery of medicine and personal items to the detainees. Bidarzani has reminded that the Prison Organization, by failing to provide and distribute necessary medicines and items for prisoners, uses this deprivation as a 'security pressure tool' against the detainees and their families. According to this report, despite continuous follow-ups by the families, the necessary medications for two of the detainees have not been delivered, increasing concerns about the health of Jaleh Javaheri, who suffers from severe arthritis, and Forough Samiinia, who has diabetes. Meanwhile, Bidarzani has reported that 'the transfer of detainees from Lakan Prison in Rasht to the Information Building' in the center of Gilan Province for 'night interrogations' continues, and many detainees, after being sent daily to the Information Building, do not return to Lakan Prison at the end of the day, indicating a lack of a consistent procedure regarding their transfers and presence in prison. Several women's rights activists were simultaneously detained on August 25 in various cities of Gilan Province, and two days later, the charges against 12 women and one man were announced as 'acting against national security.' The announcement of this charge by the police commander of Gilan comes while the families of the detainees remain unaware. As Gohar Bayat, the mother of Jaleh Javaheri, told the Shargh network, the last contact this women's rights activist had with her family was 'last Thursday', and the detaining agency and the charges against her remain unclear. She stated: 'We have gone to the prosecutor's office several times in person and even spoke with judicial officials, but they keep saying they are investigating. We do not know why Jaleh was detained, what her charges are, or where the detaining agency is. Jaleh has not contacted us since last Thursday, and I have no information about my daughter's condition or status.' The mother of Jaleh Javaheri, who claims to be 'the mother of two martyrs', also emphasized: 'My children went for Iran. For their country. Jaleh also worked for the people. She was a cultural and social activist and worked in the field of women's rights. Every time we tell the officials she did nothing, why have you detained her, they say you are unaware! What are we unaware of? At the very least, they should tell us where she is, what her charges are, and why she was detained; but we have no news of her.' On the eve of the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death, pressure on civil and political activists and also on the families seeking justice in Iran has increased from the Islamic Republic. Furthermore, human rights sources have reported that today, Wednesday, September 1, Hojjatollah Rafei, a teacher and former political prisoner, has been detained again by agents of the IRGC Intelligence Organization in a raid on his home in Shahriar. The detention of family members of deceased protesters, which began days earlier, continues. Additionally, the father of one of the victims of the nationwide protests of 2021 told VOA that Islamic Republic officials have threatened that if they see them outside and in public places on the anniversary of Mahsa Amini, there will be severe consequences. Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said on July 18 in response to a question from a VOA Persian reporter that the Islamic Republic has not learned from recent protests.