Leila Haghighatjou is detained by the IRGC

Fatemeh Haghighatjou, a former member of the Iranian parliament, announced that her sister, Leila Haghighatjou, has been detained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) based on "reports". However, after 25 days of detention, she has not had any meetings with her family, and it is unclear in which section of Evin Prison she is being held. In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Ms. Haghighatjou stated, "Unfortunately, we have no other information about her condition. We do not know which section she is in and what conditions she is enduring." According to Fatemeh Haghighatjou, her sister was not confronted with any summons or threats before her arrest and was suddenly taken by agents on December 20, who seized some personal belongings such as her tablet, laptop, and mobile phone. She mentioned that the agents left Leila's son "alone", and he was frightened until his father returned home in the evening. Reports indicate that Leila Haghighatjou, sister of Fatemeh Haghighatjou, a member of the sixth parliament, was arrested at her home on December 20. She is a PhD student in art history and an expert on artistic works at the Cultural Heritage Organization. Fatemeh Haghighatjou also reported that her sister has not yet been allowed to meet anyone and has only had "short calls of a few minutes just to say hello and that she is fine." She stated that their mother visited Evin Prison one day to inquire about Leila's status, and a soldier only told her, "Your daughter's crime is security-related, but no further explanation was given about the exact nature of her crime." This sixth parliament representative emphasized that in the Iranian judiciary, "to avoid using the term political crime," all political prisoners are labeled with security charges. She stated that her sister has never engaged in political activities and has been detained "without reason and a specific crime, and she is not even allowed to obtain a lawyer." Fatemeh Haghighatjou was a member of the sixth parliament with a reformist majority and is one of the critics of the Islamic Republic. In recent years, some Iranian political activists and journalists living abroad have reported that their family members have been detained to exert pressure on them.