Zohreh Dadras, Civil Activist Sentenced to Imprisonment, Reports Pressure and Torture During Detention

Fatemeh (Zohreh) Dadras, a civil activist from Gilan sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison, reported pressures during her detention including solitary confinement, threats with a taser, intimidation and humiliation by interrogators, and prohibition of contact. On August 16 of last year, plainclothes agents of the Islamic Republic arrested this women's rights activist in Rasht without presenting a warrant and searched her home. Zohreh Dadras has recounted the circumstances of her arrest, interrogation, and the pressures during her detention in several Instagram posts, stating that she was held in solitary confinement for over a week without the opportunity for fresh air and subjected to long interrogations. This women's rights activist also mentioned that when she requested to enter her home with male agents to prevent frightening her mother, they threatened her with a taser. She also referred to the presence of a male officer inside the women's section of the security police detention center, stating that her complaint about this officer's staring was met with 'disrespectful and insulting behavior.' Dadras described the charges attributed to her in a statement from the Gilan Intelligence Department as 'unrealistic,' noting that the statement claimed the leaders of this organization were trained abroad, while she, as someone accused of forming a criminal group, has not left the country to date. Zohreh Dadras has been sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison for charges of 'forming a group with the aim of disrupting national security' and 'gathering and colluding.' Eight other women named Forough Samiinia, Sara Jahani, Yasamin Hashedari, Shiva Shahsiah, Negin Rezaei, Matin Yazdani, Azadeh Chavoshian, and Zahra Dadras have also been sentenced to 6 years, 3 months, and 17 days in prison each for charges of 'membership in a group' and 'gathering and colluding.' Two other defendants in this case, Jalveh Javaheri and Hooman Taheri, received one-year prison sentences for 'propaganda against the regime.' The Gilan Intelligence Department claimed in a statement on August 17 that these individuals were 'preparing for unrest and insecurity' and that two of them had been trained abroad. Zohreh Dadras added that she was deprived of meeting her parents for the first 20 days of her detention and faced a prohibition on contact until the end of her detention at Lakan Prison in Rasht. This 35-year-old activist considers her greatest crime, along with 10 other Gilan activists sentenced to prison in this case, to be 'being a feminist.' Dadras further stated that 'the judge of the appeals branch, on May 6, that is, within 4 days, one of which was a Friday, confirmed the primary court's ruling without holding a court session.' It was previously reported that Branch 11 of the Appeals Court in Rasht, presided over by Judge Mohammad Sadegh Iranaghiadeh, confirmed over 60 years of prison sentences for 11 women's rights activists and political activists in Gilan 'without holding a court session' on Tuesday, May 28. In another Instagram post, Zohreh Dadras wrote that 'the meaning of life in Iran has not reached its end' and added, 'If tomorrow a sprout is to emerge from this soil, we are responsible for its being Iranian and for its survival.' The issuance of over 60 years of prison sentences for 11 women's rights defenders and political activists in Gilan has faced widespread criticism from hundreds of activists and several civil and human rights organizations, including the Iranian Writers' Association, the Human Rights Defenders Center, and the Iranian Teachers' Trade Union Council. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller also condemned these sentences as 'unjust' and 'an attempt to intimidate and silence activists.' The confirmation of over 60 years of prison sentences for Gilan activists 'without holding a court session' has been condemned by more than 350 civil and women's rights activists, and the Iranian Teachers' Trade Union Council condemned the 'inhumane sentences' against labor and women's activists. Two civil and human rights organizations criticized the issuance of 60 years of prison sentences for Gilan activists.