Judiciary Claims Ahvaz Deer Has Been 'Returned to Family'

The spokesperson for the judiciary claimed today that Ahvaz Deer has been 'returned to her family after being discharged from the hospital.' Asghar Jahangir reiterated in his Tuesday press conference that 'it has been established that she was ill, and she has now been returned to her family and is under their care.' This claim comes while no independent source has had access to Ahvaz Deer or her family, and since she became a subject of security oversight after she protested by stripping naked on university grounds in response to the university security's harassment over her refusal to comply with mandatory hijab laws. Previously, dozens of civil activists condemned the 'repressive' and 'violent' actions against Ahvaz Deer, a detained student at the University of Science and Research, calling for her 'immediate and unconditional release.' The 222 signatories of this statement, a copy of which reached Voice of America on Monday, November 21, declared that the 'forced hospitalization' of Ahvaz Deer in a psychiatric hospital is a clear attempt to 'silence dissent' and constitutes a 'blatant violation of human rights.' According to reports, Ahvaz Deer, a seventh-semester French language student at the Islamic Azad University of Science and Research in Tehran, protested by stripping naked on campus after being harassed by university security for not complying with mandatory hijab laws. The signatories of this statement, many of whom are inside Iran, described Ahvaz Deer as a 'symbol of courage and resistance against violence and the humiliation of women,' addressing the Islamic Republic officials: 'Your foolish and cowardly attempts to silence the voice of the nation through propaganda, madness, and imprisonment will not deter us from our struggle for freedom and justice.' The statement called on the international community to 'not remain silent in the face of this injustice' and to 'demand that the Islamic Republic respect the fundamental rights of Iranian citizens.' Among the signatories are Kokab Badaghi, Pouran Nazemi, Hoshang Asadi, Noushabeh Amiri, Mina Ahadi, Shoaleh Pakrovan, Hashem Khwastaar, Saeed Dehghan, Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb, Rezvan Moghadam, Hassan Nayeb Hashem, Javad Laleh Mohammadi, and Raheleh Ahmadi. The World Student Assembly also expressed serious concern on Friday, November 18, regarding the detention of Ahvaz Deer, a female student at Islamic Azad University in Tehran. Amnesty International has also called for her 'immediate and unconditional' release, prevention of torture and other mistreatment against her, and ensuring her right to access her family and lawyer. May Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, also stated that he is closely monitoring this incident and the reaction of the Iranian authorities, sharing a post published on Voice of America's social media regarding this detained student.