Sadeghah Voseqi Released from Evin Prison Due to Worsening Illness Leading to Blindness

Sadeghah Voseqi, a prominent Islamic scholar who was arrested at her home in Tehran on March 17, was released from Evin Prison on Tuesday, April 29. Iranian media reported that her release was approved due to the worsening of an illness that had previously led to her blindness. In a testimony to the UN Truth Commission published just hours before her release, Voseqi stated that over the past 40 days, she had been arrested 'in a brutal and violent manner' by 'agents under the command of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic' for 'removing her hijab' and had endured 'torture and hard labor' while suffering from 'loss of vision.' In the letter, which was shared on her Instagram page, she addressed the 'UN Human Rights Committee, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, and international human rights organizations,' stating that she had dedicated most of her life to studying, teaching, and researching religion, particularly Islamic jurisprudence. She emphasized that her research concluded that 'religious women are not required to cover their hair within the framework of Islamic law,' a view shared by some independent religious scholars. Voseqi added that 'for decades, many Iranian women have opposed the mandatory hijab law, and I have also removed my hijab in protest against this law and the oppression of women and their dignity.' She criticized the Supreme Leader's view that women must cover their hair, arguing that this perspective is not defensible based on primary Islamic sources but is imposed on women through political power, causing significant physical, psychological, and financial harm to women and the Iranian nation. While drafting and publishing this letter from prison, she stated, 'I have been detained for more than forty days for the accusation of removing my hijab, in a brutal and violent manner by government agents who are legally under the command of the Supreme Leader.' She described her situation as a witness, stating, 'I am blind and in this condition, I was taken to interrogation places without having the right to a lawyer. I was transferred to serve my sentence without following legal procedures.' According to this religious scholar, while performing personal tasks is 'difficult and sometimes impossible' for her, prison officials have refused to assign her a social worker and she has been deprived of family visits due to her refusal to wear a hijab. She noted that due to the 'numerous tensions' created by prison officials, she faced 'three weeks of severe heart rate and blood pressure fluctuations,' and in the early days, 'she was even prevented from being taken to the prison clinic.' However, 'ultimately, due to the critical condition diagnosed by the Evin clinic doctor, which posed a risk to her life,' she was sent 'under guard to the prison-contracted hospital' and lost consciousness for a period, returning to prison despite 'the need for continued treatment.' Despite requesting to be transferred to a reliable hospital at her own expense, the prison medical chief informed Voseqi that the head of the prison organization opposed her transfer. Meanwhile, officials took this political prisoner to Farabi Hospital 'under guard' to 'confirm the obvious issue of loss of vision,' where doctors issued her a 'certificate of inability to endure imprisonment,' but weeks later, she is 'still in prison.' In her letter to the UN Truth Commission, Voseqi emphasized: 'Enduring imprisonment for me is a clear example of imprisonment with torture and hard labor.' She stressed that based on her 'personal experiences' and those of her fellow inmates, 'multiple institutions such as the judiciary, security agencies, and the prison organization closely cooperate with each other, using all available tools, including the basic rights of prisoners, to exert pressure on political prisoners and force them to surrender.' Voseqi urged the UN Truth Commission, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, and international human rights organizations to 'pay attention to the issues mentioned in this writing' and to 'spare no effort to prevent the Islamic Republic from committing such oppression, especially against women.' Government pressure to suppress optional covering has previously sparked protests from hijab-wearing and Muslim women. In this context, Tahereh Taleghani, daughter of Mahmoud Taleghani, one of the founders of the Islamic Republic, stated her support for the 'just demands' of women opposing mandatory hijab, saying: 'There is no punishment for being unveiled in the Quran.'