Zahra Mohammadi

Zahra Mohammadi (Zara Mohammadi) is the director of the Nojin (Nozheen) Socio-Cultural Association. She was arrested and sentenced to prison on charges related to the organization and administration of illegal organizations. She has focused her activism on teaching the Kurdish language.

In recent years, the Nojin (Nozheen) Socio-cultural Association, having been granted a permit by the Minister of Interior for their activities, has organized Kurdish language classes in various cities in Kurdistan. This civic organization has been active in other cultural fields. It has also organized aid campaigns to help the victims of floods and Coronavirus pandemics. <symbol-timeline></symbol-timeline>

• <coverage-outsourcing id='25914'> She was arrested along with several other members of the Nojin (Nozheen) Socio-Cultural Association members. A few days later, the authorities released some of the detainees. Although she was sent to the Juvenile Detention Center in Sanandaj, she was taken to Sanandaj’s Intelligence offices for interrogations. In some earlier reports, it was said that the intelligence department of the police was the institution in charge of arrest. A while later, Kani Mohammadi told the Centre for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) that her sister was arrested without a court order. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='25915'> A group of civil activists, protesting her continued detention gathered in front of Sanandaj’s judicial offices. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='25920'> According to Kurdistan Human Rights Network, Zahra Mohammadi, a member of the Nojin (Nozheen) Socio-Cultural Association is under pressure from intelligence forces to give a forced televised confession. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='27313'> According to Maf News, a bail was set by the Judiciary, however, the head of Branch Two of Sanandaj’s Interrogation Office has opposed her temporary release. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='27343'> <reference source='https://iranwire.com/fa/features/33918'> Zahra Mohammadi's sister, Kani Mohammadi spoke to IranWire and explained about the pressure on Zahra: “They told my sister, Zahra, that unless she confessed to having links with Kurdish parties, all of her family members, including her father, would be arrested. My father has had three mini-strokes during Zahra’s arrest.” Her sister says that Ms Mohammadi has undergone mental and “physical” torture. Kani Mohammadi’s interview with IranWire shows that her interrogators lack evidence to charge her and have resorted to using Ms Mohmmadi’s statements during her previous arrest; Zahra Mohmmadi had told her interrogators: “Kurds are not an ethnicity but a nation.”Kani Mohammadi, having viewed the evidence held by the lawyer, says: “They are using this sentence to frame her sister.” Ms Mohammadi suffers from stomach and intestine problems. The prison clinic has prescribed her with a medicine that has made her feel worse". </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='27506'> Kani Mohammadi told ICHR that they did not know anything for two months after Zahra's arrest. According to Kani Mohammadi's statement, they saw Zahra for the first time 72 days after her arrest. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='27538'> <reference source='https://ipa.united4iran.org/media/file_evidence/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%AA_%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87_%DA%A9%D9%86%D8%B4%DA%AF%D8%B1_%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF.pdf'> Amnesty International calls for action emphasizing the violation of Ms. Mohammadi's rights by security forces. It urges people to write an appeal to the public prosecutor of Sanandaj to take immediate action and to unconditionally release her, securing a safe enviroment for her during her time in detention. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='27704'> ‌She was released on bail. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='31560'> <reference source='https://bit.ly/38ZKihG'> The First Branch of Sanandaj Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Saeedi, sentenced Zahra Mohammadi to 10 -year prison on the charge of "forming anti-state groups" based on her membership in the Nojin (Nozheen) Socio-cultural Association. According to local sources in Kurdistan, this association is active in promoting cultural activities and it would be erroneous to attribute political status to it. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='32247'> <reference source='https://iranwire.com/fa/news/kordestan/40595'> A number of academics in Iran and other countries issued a joint statement condemning the Iranian Revolutionary Court's decision to sentence Zahra Mohammadi and called for an end to "Iran's discriminatory policies against non-Persian languages." </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='34758'> <reference source='http://bit.ly/2ZhGXGA'> Kurdpa reported that Zahra Mohammadi's 10-year prison sentence was recently reduced to five-year in prison by Branch 4 of the Kurdistan Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Mostafa Tayari. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='35561'> <reference source='https://bit.ly/3tuosfi'> The case was referred to the Supreme Court for review. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='34811'> <reference source='https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/woman-human-rights-defender-zahra-mohammadi-sentenced'> The human rights organization Front Line Defenders issued a statement confirming the verdict against Zahra Mohammadi. In their statement, they say: > Front Line Defenders condemns the sentencing of woman human rights defender Zahra Mohammadi, as it believes it is in retaliation for her peaceful and legitimate work defending and promoting human rights in Iran and raising awareness about the legal and cultural rights ethnic groups are entitled to exercise in the country according to article 15 of the Iranian Constitution . According to this statement: > During this arbitrary detention the woman human rights defender was denied access to necessary medication to treat her pre-existing gastrointestinal complications. While in detention security forces reportedly threatened to arrest Zahra Mohammadi’s family members and tried to pressure the woman human rights defender to give a televised confession . </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='37990'> <reference source='https://www.instagram.com/p/CYOw29JM9ZG/?utm_medium=copy_link'> The Nojin (Nozheen) Socio-Cultural Association confirmed on its Instagram account Zahra Mohammadi's five-year prison sentence after her request for a retrial was rejected. According to their report, despite many efforts to overturn her sentence in the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court and with appeals for the application of Article 477, her sentence has once again been confirmed by the Chief Justice of Kurdistan Province and sent to the Enforcement of Judgments Office of Kurdistan province. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='38058'> <reference source='https://www.instagram.com/p/CYdi4V9LwWG/'> As Zahra Mohammadi was about to enter prison, she addressed the people of Kurdistan who went to bid her farewell. After thanking them and showing appreciation for their presence, she said: > Hell will freeze over before the enemy thinks they can imprison a freedom fighter. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='38057'> <reference source='https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/fa/?p=17466'> She was sent to the Correctional facility at the Women's Prison in Sanandaj to serve her five-year prison sentence. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='38682'> <reference source='https://bit.ly/3LhuGbg'> Hangaw wrote that the Sanandaj Intelligence Office opposed Zara Mohammadi's request for leave on the pretext of "Special sensitivities around the holding of Nawruz celebrations in Kurdistan.“ </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='42256'> <reference source='https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci7cAj_s5Kv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link'> According to Nozhin Association, she and a group of female prisoners went on a hunger strike demanding the "unconditional and immediate release" of all arrested protesters after the murder of Mahsa Amini and also in protest to the mistreatment of prisoners by the prison authorities. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='44207'> <reference source='https://www.bbc.com/persian/resources/idt-75af095e-21f7-41b0-9c5f-a96a5e0615c1'> Ms. Mohammadi was chosen as one of the world's 100 women of the year by BBC. BBC wrote that Zara Mohammadi has spent more than a decade of her life in Sanandaj teaching the Kurdish language. The report emphasized that Iran's constitution says to use local and ethnic languages in educational spaces but according to activists and attorneys, the reality is something else. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='45548'> <reference source='https://t.me/kurdpaagency/27575'> According to Kurdpa, Kurdish language teacher Sivan Ebrahimi was arrested by the security forces while following up on his wife Zahra Mohammadi's case at the revolutionary court of Sanandaj. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='45549'> <reference source='https://t.me/kurdpaagency/27611'> Zahra Mohammadi's husband who was arrested while following oo on her wife's case has been released. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='47180'> <reference source='https://t.me/kurdpaagency/28266'> She was released. On February 5th, 2023, the Islamic Republic's Judiciary issued a memo that announced the beginning of the process of releasing some of the protesters arrested during the 2022 national uprising. According to the judiciary's Mizan website, and latest comments made by the spokesperson for the judiciary, this "pardon" is in honor of the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution and contingent on the prisoners expressing regret; The pardon is not extended to cases with charges such as "connection to dissident groups", and "destruction of public property". However, many of the released prisoners have posted videos and notes saying they never requested a pardon and never expressed regret. There are even videos of female activists taking off their hijab and chanting against the Islamic Republic in front of the prison moments after their release. The release of prisoners being called a pardon has caused massive reaction online and some activists on social media and human rights organizations consider it a PR stunt to repair some of the damage to Ali Khamenei's image. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>