Sediqeh Voseqi to UN Truth Commission: I Have Endured 'Torture and Hardship' with 'Loss of Vision'

Sediqeh Voseqi, a imprisoned Islamic studies scholar, stated in a testimony to the UN Truth Commission that for over 40 days she has been detained 'brutally and violently' by 'agents under the command of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic' for 'removing her headscarf' and has suffered 'torture and hardship' with 'loss of vision.' In this letter, published on her Instagram account on Monday, April 29, she addressed the 'UN Human Rights Committee, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, and international human rights organizations,' emphasizing that she has devoted most of her life to studying, teaching, and researching religion, particularly Islamic jurisprudence. She concluded from her research that 'religious women are not obliged to cover their hair within the framework of Islamic law,' a view shared by some independent religious scholars. She added, 'For decades, many Iranian women have opposed the compulsory hijab law, and I too have removed my headscarf in protest against this law and the oppression of women and their dignity.' According to Voseqi, 'the Supreme Leader's viewpoint is that women must cover their hair,' a stance that is not defensible based on primary Islamic sources but has been imposed on women through political power, causing significant physical, psychological, and financial harm to women and the Iranian nation. This political prisoner described her arrest process: 'For over forty days, I have been violently and brutally arrested from my home by government agents who are legally under the command of the Supreme Leader and transferred to Evin Prison.' Voseqi also described her situation as a witness: 'I am visually impaired and have been taken to interrogation places without having the right to a lawyer. I was transferred to serve my sentence without following legal procedures from the third branch of Evin Prosecutor's Office.' She stated that while performing personal tasks is 'difficult and sometimes impossible' for her, prison officials have refused to assign a social worker to her and have deprived her of family visits due to her refusal to wear a headscarf. This ideological prisoner emphasized that due to the numerous tensions created by prison officials, she faced 'three weeks of severe fluctuations in heart rate and blood pressure,' and in the early days, 'she was even prevented from being taken to the prison clinic'; however, 'ultimately, due to the dire condition diagnosed by the Evin clinic doctor, which posed a life-threatening risk,' she was 'taken under guard to the prison's contracted hospital' and lost consciousness for a period, and despite 'the need for continued treatment,' she was returned to prison. Despite requesting to be transferred to a reliable hospital at her own expense, the head of the prison clinic told Sediqeh 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,' and doctors at this hospital issued her a 'certificate of inability to serve her sentence,' but weeks later, she is 'still in prison.' In her letter to the UN Truth Commission, Sediqeh Voseqi emphasized: 'Serving my sentence is a clear example of imprisonment with torture and hardship.' She stressed that based on her 'personal experiences' and those of her fellow inmates, 'numerous 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 submit.' Sediqeh Voseqi has 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, if necessary, to cite them, 'not to spare any effort to prevent the Islamic Republic from inflicting such oppression, especially on women.' Government pressures to suppress optional hijab have previously provoked protests from hijab-wearing and Muslim women. In this context, Tahereh Taleghani, daughter of Mahmoud Taleghani, one of the founders of the Islamic Republic, has stated her support for the 'legitimate demands' of women opposing the compulsory hijab, saying: 'There is no punishment for being unveiled in the Quran.'