Three More Women's Rights Activists Arrested in Rasht to Serve Prison Sentences

Human rights sources reported that on Wednesday, July 27, Hooman Taheri, Sara Jahani, and Yasmin Hashdari, three women's rights activists in Gilan, were arrested after visiting the execution unit of the Rasht Prosecutor's Office and transferred to Lakan Prison in Rasht. Hooman Taheri's mother announced that Taheri, Sara Jahani, and Yasmin Hashdari were arrested to serve their sentences and taken to Lakan Prison. Previously, six civil and women's rights activists in Gilan had visited Branch 5 of the Rasht Execution Office on Saturday, July 23, to serve their prison sentences. Forough Sami'nia, Jalveh Javaheri, Shiva Shahsiya, Negin Rezaei, Matin Yazdani, and Azadeh Chavoshian were arrested that day and transferred to Lakan Prison. The prison sentences for Zahra and Zahra Dadras, two other convicts in the case of 11 Gilan activists, were executed on July 20. In this case, 11 civil and women's rights activists in Gilan have been sentenced to a total of over 60 years in prison. A few days ago, Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur, expressed concern over the long prison sentences and reports of violent arrests, torture, and threats from the Islamic Republic's security forces to rape and kill these prisoners during interrogation, calling for an end to the repression of women's human rights activists. The UN Special Rapporteur deemed the threats of interrogators to 'rape and kill' six imprisoned women in Iran as alarming. The condemnation of the death sentence for Sharifeh Mohammadi; dozens of activists and former political prisoners: the government wants to escape from crises. A hunger strike by 55 political prisoners in Evin Prison; 'Doctors Without Borders' called for the abolition of Sharifeh Mohammadi's death sentence.