Sepideh Gholian

Sepideh Gholian is a veterinary student from Dezful. She was arrested and sentenced to prison many times due to her civil and human rights activities, including concerning the situation of unknown prisoners and accompanying the protests of Haftpeh workers.

In a tweet from prison, Sepideh Gholian described the gross human rights violations in the Central Bushehr Prison. She called the prison a "forgotten hell" and wrote: "Female prisoners in this ward are being held under the most violent tortures and most inhumane conditions for the crime of being women prisoners. <symbol-timeline></symbol-timeline>

• <coverage-outsourcing id='13350'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2017/hranews/a-10007/'> She was arrested. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='13385'> It is thought that charges against Ms. Qolyan relate to posts on Instagram, a credible source told Center for Human Rights in Iran. On her Instagram, she had written in criticism and protest against the increasing number of working children in Ahvaz, the environmental crisis, pollution in the city, transferring the water of Karun river and arrest of political and cultural activists in Ahvaz </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='23468'> After the first meeting of families with Esmayil Bakhshi and Sepide Qoliyan, numerous sources, including the Telegram channel of the Haft-Tapeh Trade Union, HRANA and CHRI reported that the two are in solitary, without access to lawyers and with marks of beatings on their bodies </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='23467'> Twenty of Haft-Tapeh protesters, including every member of the Workers’ Representative Assembly and some workers’ and civic activists were arrested. He was also arrested on the same day. Haft-Tapeh worker protests had begun a few days earlier and they had been noticed all over Iran. Most of the arrestees were released after a few days while the protests were going on but Esmayil Bakhshi and Sepideh Qoliyan, despite rumors that spoke of their release, remained in custody. These arrests led to protests by workers of Haf-Ttapeh, Steel Company, and groups of students in the following days but the street protests died down in the following weeks </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='23629'> Was released on bail. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='23897'> Esmayil Bakhshi published a text on his Instagram and revealed the torture he and Sepide Qolyian had gone under in Ahvaz’s Intelligence Ministry detention centre. This was widely spread on cyberspace and led to it being denied by the authorities of the Intelligence Ministry, the judiciary and the government. Also some social media users who had been tortured used the hashtag “I was also tortured” to describe their sufferings in the prisons of the Islamic Republic </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='23899'> Asal Mohammadi wrote the following on her Instagram: “On the sixth day of my detention in Ahvaz, I was transferred to a small and wet cell which held seven prisoners. One of them was Sepideh Qolyan, as i realized quickly. I couldn't believe in such a short time her happy and bright face was getting so thin, weak and tired. She still had bruises on her neck and scratch marks on her hands. She wrote in her text: I was witnessing her (Sepideh Qolian) long interrogations from 10 in the morning through midnight and this process was repeating almost every day. I could hear the sound of her interrogators cursing at her from the next room. We were witnessing so much pressure on her in order to get a false confession that she was scratching her face and wished for death. She wrote in part: “I could hear Ismaeil Bakhsi’s constant coughs and breath shortage from next door interrogation room and interrogators mocking him: “he is acting, he is alright.” When I was going to the detention center’s yard I could hear the insults and accusations by interrogators toward Ismaeil Bakhshi. I’m willing to testify about what I saw and what I heard” </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='23859'> The IRIB broadcast “Foiled Designs,” a film based on the “confessions” of Asal Mohammadi, Esmail Bakhshi, Maziar Seyednejad, Ali Nejati, and Sepide Qolyan. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='23860'> Esmayil Bakhshi and Sepide Qolyan were arrested again. This followed broad negative reactions to the film shown by IRIB. According to the reports published -- based on witness statements -- a large number of security forces were present for these arrests and violently attacked the houses of Esmayil and Sepideh. Sepideh’s brother, Mehdi Qolyan, was also arrested in the attack. According to her father, 12 male security forces and two female ones had violently attacked the house, breaking the ribs of his son and beating up him and his wife. He said: “My daughter, Sepideh, was shouting. They tied my son and threw him to the trunk of the car. I went to the Intelligence department in Shoosh and they told me I’d be arrested too if I resisted.” Mehdi Qolyan was freed a week later. Iranian authorities alledged that Esmayil Bakhshi had tried to flee abroad to follow up his “project of fabricating torture against the system” </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='24292'> She was transferred to Sepdiar prison </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='24526'> Haft-Tapeh Sugarcane Workers Union reported that case of Sepide Qolyan and Esmayil Bakhshi had been sent to the Branch Seven of Evin Prosecutors and the case’s investigator, Mr Shahmohammadi, advised the families to refrain from hiring a lawyer because he would do the defense himself </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='24540'> Esmail Bakhshi, Sepideh Qolian, and Amir Amirgholi were transferred to Evin prison </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='24566'> Jamal Heydarimanesh, Sepide Qolyan’s lawyer, told IRNA that, based on the note to Article 48 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the connection between the lawyers and clients of the case has been cut, lawyers have not seen the case’s information and Qolyan, Esmayil Bakhshi and Amir Amirqoli don’t have access to any other lawyers. He also said nonpolitical charges had been added to the case: “Our clients also face non-security charges and these are even more than the security ones” </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='25246'> Was sent to Varamin’s Qarchak prison “by the decision of prosecutor and for correction.” She published a letter on this </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='25964'> Farzane Zilabi and Jamaloddin Heydarimanesh, lawyers for Esmayil Bakhshi and Sepideh Qolian, published a note to demand open trial for their defendants. This is a legal requirement in Iranian law and they should have an opportunity to respond to the the charges laid against them in the TV program “Foiled Plans” </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='26038'> She embarked on a hunger strike </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='25945'> After political prisoners protested the late medical attention shown to Saba Kord Afshari whose transfer to a clinic was delayed, they were beaten up by prisoners held on drug charges (this had been demanded by clinic authorities.) The following political prisoners were injured in this clash: Yasaman Ariani, Neda Naji, Atefe Rangriz and Sepide Qoliyan. The day after, Saba Kordafshari, Yasaman Ariani, Monire Arabshahi and Mojgan Keshavarz staged a protest in front of the prison office </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='26091'> According to the Telegram account of Haft-Tapeh Trade Union, Jamaleddin Heydarimanesh, Sepide Qolyan’s lawyer, said her confessions were “under torture” and legally unaccountable. But the judge said such statements were undermining security forces and threatened the lawyer with arrest </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='26378'> According to ILNA, his lawyers and those of other prisoners of the Haft-Tapeh workers’ protests have rejected the claims of Sayid Omrani, the judicial deputy of the national prosecutor who had claimed certain financial connections for Haft-Tapeh protesters: “As lawyers representing the defendants in this case, after reviewing the full 3000 page case in 9 volumes, we have seen no evidence that a single cent has been received by defendants. Nor is there any evidence elsewhere, in the report of the disciplinary officer, charge sheet of the prosecutor of minutes of trial” </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='26554'> Sentences of Haft-Tapeh prisoners, issued by Judge Moghise, were given to them. Esmayil Bakhshi was sentenced to 14 years in prison and 74 blows of the lash (seven effectively years); Sepideh Qolyan, Amirhossein Mohammadi Fard, Sanaz Allahyari, Amir Amirqoli and Asal Mohmmadi were each given up to 18 years in prison (seven effective years) and Mohammad Khanifar was sentenced to six years in prison (five effective years.) Among the charges they were convicted of are the following: “Gathering and collusion against national security, propaganda activity against the regime, insulting the Supreme Leader, disrupting public opinion and publishing falsehoods” </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='26749'> A voice file was published of her, most of which is speaking about numerous problems of women in Iranian society and some other parts pertaining to the harassment she and her family have suffered from the Intelligence Ministry </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='27114'> <reference source='https://united4iran.org/fa/womenoffreedom'> The graffiti by seven Iranian women political prisoners in San Francisco's Clarion Alley was unveiled and the “In Praise of Women of Freedom” campaign started work. The images of these seven women were painted by Shaghayegh Siroos as part of a campaign by United for Iran in collaboration with IPA. The campaign aims to raise awareness on the situation of women imprisoned in Iran; women who have been imprisoned for their ideas or political or civil activities. The graffiti is located in the famed Clarion Alley, a narrow alley which holds paintings of many artists from around the world, often with political and social content </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='27201'> <reference source='https://ipa.united4iran.org/media/file_evidence/Qolian-Voice.mp3'> Hrana reported that she embarked on a hunger strike protesting against pressures on her family </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='27223'> <reference source='https://ipa.united4iran.org/media/file_evidence/photo_2019-10-26_15-33-11.jpg'> Six of the Haft Tapeh and World Labour Day detainees released on bail. Marzieh Amiri, Amir Amirgholi, Sanaz Allahyari, Amir Hossein Mohammadi Fard, Sepideh Gholian, and Atefeh Rangriz were released from Qarchak and Evin prisons for several consecutive hours. At the same time, the release possibility for Esmail Bakhshi and Asal Mohammadi from the Haft Tapeh, and Neda Naji, one of the World Labor Day detainees, was also mentioned in cyberspace </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='27558'> arrested after attending protests against the petrol price hike. A video has been published from Ms Qolyan where she shouts “Threats and prisons won’t work anymore.” “Sepideh Qolyan had attended the gatherings in Dezful to protest the petrol rationing and price hike and had given a speech there. After she came back home, four car carrying security forces went to her house and arrested her after beating her up,” Hrana reported </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='27732'> She was released on bail </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='27952'> The Haft Tapeh defendants were convicted of “gathering and collusion to act against national security” and sentenced to five years in prison. The Branch 36 of the appellate court, headed by Judge Zargar, acquitted them of other crimes and ultimately the sentence can be applied to all of the defendants. The trial of these people was held without their knowledge or that of their lawyers </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='28214'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/sepideqoliyan/status/1208314724020043776'> In a series of tweets, Sepideh Gholian mentioned some examples of violations of human rights in Sepidar Prison. She mentions arbitrary restrictions such as: 1- The ban on wearing tight or short dresses or short-sleeve clothes and how the phone card of a prisoner was confiscated for wearing tight clothes and in protest she harmed herself with a sharp object and bled on the floor. 2- Dancing; a person named Somayeh was seen dancing by the authorities and she was transferred to quarantine. She attempted suicide but was saved. 3- Bad sanitation service, and shortage of water. The prison's water was cut off several times and the sewage overflowed. A prisoner named Mariam Hamadi and her child were seen bathing with a flask and were punished. 4- low wages for work in prison. Some of the prisoners working in workshops only make 1 million rials a month. 5- Mandatory prayer. 6- Forcing to wear a chador during family visits. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='28137'> Sepideh Ghalyan filed a complaint of those who have made confession videos of the Haft Tapeh defendants. Mrs. Gholyan claims that Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour, a reporter at 20:30 news is one of the parts making the burnt design documentary and she also participated in the interrogation room. “During the burnt design documentary production process and after hours of physical and psychological torture, Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour was in the interrogation room to give us prepared texts in front of the camera.”, Sepideh Gholyan wrote on her Twitter page. She has also filed a complaint regarding the Head of IRIB and 20:30 news editor </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='28376'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2020/hranews/a-23396/'> Jamaleddin Heidari Manesh Lawyer of Sepideh Gholyan was summoned to the prosecutor's office.He must be present at Branch 4 of the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office within 10 days to provide documentation related to Mrs. Gholyan's claim </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='29043'> <reference source='https://www.radiozamaneh.com/j_post_status/%d8%b3%d9%be%db%8c%d8%af%d9%87_%d9%82%d9%84%db%8c%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a8%d8%a7-%d8%b5%d8%af%d9%88%d8%b1-%d9%82%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%b1-%da%a9%d9%81%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%aa-%db%b1%db%b8%db%b0-%d9%85%db%8c%d9%84%db%8c'> After a lawsuit by Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour against Sepideh Gholian, she went to Evin court. Her bail was set at 1.8 billion rials which she paid and got released. She has been charged with propaganda against the state and disseminating lies to agitate public opinion. The case has been closed. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='30586'> <reference source='https://www.magiran.com/article/4043389'> After oral notification about the cancellation of the prison sentences of some labor activists, Amir Raeisian (lawyer)told Shargh news agency: We were informed that the implementation of the sentences of Marzieh Amiri, Atefeh Rangriz, and several others had been canceled and the defendants had to wait for a written notification </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='31179'> She attended the Judgment Enforcement Branch of Evin Prosecutor's Office To follow up the case. Officials detained her for carrying out the sentence, but her prison sentence was postponed for a week with her family's following up </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='31276'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2020/hranews/a-25291/'> He began his prison term </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='32443'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2020/hranews/a-25517/'> According to HRANA, 35 political women prisoners are currently being kept in the women's Evin Prison ward. They face problems such as limited access to medical services, rarity and high prices of goods, low-quality food, etc. After the coronavirus's pandemic, prisoners are responsible for preparing masks and gloves. In the prison store, each mask or pair of gloves is sold to prisoners at a price of between eight and ten thousand tomans. Detergents and disinfectants are also given to the prisoners rationally. Still, the prisoners have to buy these materials from the store due to the lack of these items. The prison store sells Alcohol and other disinfectants at high prices, so some prisoners buy these substances together. The quality of food is low, and most prisoners are forced to buy food from the prison store. Maryam Akbari Monfared, Atena Daemi, Raheleh Ahmadi, Saba Kord Afshari, Niloufar Bayani, Sepideh Kashani, Fatemeh Mosanna, Zahra Zahtabachi, Monireh Arabshahi, Yasaman Ariani, Mojgan Keshavarz, Aras Amiri, Samaneh Norouz Moradi, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Hengameh Shahidi, Rezvaneh Ahmad Khanbeigi, Sepideh Farhan, Sepideh Gholyan, Maryam Ebrahimvand, Neda Ashtiani, Zahra Jamali, Fariba Adelkhah, Mozhgan Kavousi, Mozhdeh Negahdar, Elham Barmaki, Masoumeh (Minoo) Ghasemzadeh Malek Shah, Maryam Haji Hosseini, Nazanin Toosi, Mina Saki, Mira Radpour, Leila Raouf, Hajar Siamifar, and Soroush Ahmadi Khosravi are among the 35 women prisoners currently being kept in the women's ward of Evin Prison. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='40380'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/heidarimanesh/status/1295352944678797313'> Her attorney announced that she was cleared for the case regarding participating in November 2019 uprising. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='33508'> <reference source='https://iranwire.com/fa/news/tehran/43225'> The hearing of her case will be held on December 22, 2020, at Branch 24 of Tehran Revolutionary Court. This case was filed with the complaint of Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour, a journalist affiliated with the security forces. It should be noted that Ms. Zabihpour's complaint case was declared closed, but despite this, the court session will be held for unknown reasons. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='35064'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/IranIntlbrk/status/1370051849307488258?s=20'> Sepideh Qolian was put in handcuffs and prison anklets and was told she is being transferred to Sepiar Prison but was actually taken to Bushehr Prison. Ms Qolian had previously asked authorities for a transfer to a prison near her family’s whereabouts but the Bushehr Prison is more than 400 kilometers away from the city of Ahvaz, where her family live. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='36401'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2021/hranews/a-31046/'> Sepideh Gholian and Mahboubeh Rezaei were threatened with death by violent crime prisoners. This was instigated by the women's ward supervisor, Fatemeh Aliverdi. According to HRANA, due to these threats, Sepideh Gholian spent the night in the yard in 47 C temperature. Mahboubeh Rezaei has requested a transfer to Shiraz Prison. Her request was denied immediately. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='36552'> Her attorney Jamaloddin Heidari Manesh announced that his client has contracted coronavirus since last week and her medical furlough request was denied. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='36597'> <reference source='https://t.me/bidarzani/9673'> She went on furlough. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='36955'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/sepideqoliyan/status/1435927993558331393?s=20'> On her Twitter account, Sepideh Gholian described the human rights violations in the women's ward of Bushehr prison. She said the chador full hijab is mandatory everywhere except for the bed. She also claimed that some women are used for sexual favors and temporary Islamic marriage by the guards and prison staff and financial prisoners. Sepideh Gholian said she has reported 20 cases of the violations of women's rights in Bushehr prison to the authorities but has received no response. She also mentioned threats to examine the genitals in front of the personnel and prisoners, beating, quarantine, torture and sexual assault, losing the phone call and family visit privileges, and canceling furloughs as some of the punishments for complaining in the prison. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='36958'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/Tavaana/status/1436611012275306496?s=20'> Mahboubeh Rezaei wrote a note testifying to the threats and torture and abuse in prison and the coerced confession of Sepideh Gholian. Mahboubeh Rezaei says: > I testify that I received sexual offers from prison authorities due to my financial problems, suggesting temporary marriage to rich financial prisoners. I also testify that I saw my sister Sepideh Gholian be threatened to death and torture. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='36952'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/sepideqoliyan/status/1440615982410522625?s=20'> She was ordered to appear in the second branch of the public and revolutionary court of Bushehr to defend herself against the charges of disseminating lies online and propaganda against the state. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='52964'> According to an Atlas source, Sepideh Gholian was sentenced to eight months in prison in the case of Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour's complaint, in Branch 24 of the Revolutionary Court, headed by Mohammad Reza Radmand, on the charge of propaganda against the system. In the decree issued by this court, regarding the charge of disturbing the public mind through disseminating lies, a decision of disqualification of the competence of the criminal courts of Tehran has been issued. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='36959'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/sepideqoliyan/status/1443572456048893968?s=20'> She reported that Mahboubeh Rezaei was transferred from Bushehr Prison to Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz. Her exile occurred after releasing an audio file about the torture and sexual advances in prison. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='37060'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/amirreiis/status/1447649923143544973?s=20'> Sepideh Gholina was arrested. Her attorney Amir Rasiain reported that her furlough had ended a few days ago and she had visited her sister in Ahvaz to say goodbye. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='37059'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/IranIntl/status/1447849752721244162?s=20'> Her mother says she is worried about Sepideh's life. Her phone and laptop and the remote control for the parking were confiscated along with a family member's laptop. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='37083'> <reference source='https://www.instagram.com/p/CVF011TD2Mh/'> She is in solitary in ward 209 of Evin Prison. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='37498'> <reference source='https://www.instagram.com/p/CV7uBG6K302zqA_VfHeHNPTwdxA8DwujeaWm-A0/'> Mehdi Gholian posted a photo on his Instagram saying his sister Sepideh was transferred to the women's ward of Evin Prison today. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='40243'> <reference source='https://www.radiofarda.com/a/31746570.html'> In a letter from prison, Sepideh Gholian described the condition of herself and a few other female prisoners, saying: > Torture, court corridors, solitary cells, and long-distance exiles from one prison to another is a summary of my life in recent years. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='40242'> <reference source='https://www.radiofarda.com/a/31746570.html'> In a letter from prison she announced that she was cleared of the charge of disseminating lies for reporting on the human rights violations in the women's ward of Bushehr Prison. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='38308'> <reference source='https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FNL2TewX0Aoygqs?format=jpg&name=medium'> Her brother Mehdi Gholian said on Instagram that his sister's life is in danger. Sepideh Gholian has contracted coronavirus in Evin Prison and suffers from fever, body aches, diarrhea, kidney pain, and stomach bleeding. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='38309'> <reference source='https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FNL2TewX0Aoygqs?format=jpg&name=medium'> Her brother wrote that despite finishing all the paper work and the judge signing the furlough papers, the prison refuses to send her on furlough. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='40198'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2022/hranews/a-35473/'> HRANA reported that despite her repeated requests, the prison authorities refuse to transfer her to a prison near where she lives. Her family has to travel from Dezful to Tehran every week for a visit. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='41045'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2022/hranews/a-36271/'> A group of political prisoners including Fatemeh Mosanna, Narges Mohammadi, Parastou Moeini, Sepideh Gholian, and Raheleh Ahmadi has shown similar coronavirus symptoms. According to HRANA, despite the spread of the virus in the women’s ward of Evin Prison, the infirmary officials only test the initial patients and due to similarity of symptoms, refused to test the rest of the prisoners. According to the report, safety protocols such as quarantine were not implemented, and the patients were denied suitable medical treatment. According to HRANA, after being denied a hospital visit for gastrointestinal bleeding earlier, Fatemeh Mosanna’s health has rapidly declined after showing COVID19 symptoms. The report also indicates that due to Ms. Mohammadi’s heart and lung disease, lack of access to her medication, and authorities denying her a hospital visit, her health could rapidly deteriorate. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='41429'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/letters/a-911/'> 16 female political prisoners wrote an open letter warning about the spread of coronavirus in the women's ward and expressed concern about the high density of the population in this ward. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='42147'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2022/hranews/a-37093/?tg_rhash=22a41dd9689763'> Sepideh Gholian went on a hunger strike. HRANA reported that a source close to the family says she went on a hunger strike in protest of the lack of response to her repeated request to be transferred to Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz, closer to where she lives. According to the report, yesterday she was sent to the hospital after her blood pressure dropped, and she is still on hunger strike. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='42148'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2022/hranews/a-37104/?tg_rhash=22a41dd9689763'> After Evin Prison authorities promised to transfer her to Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz, she ended her hunger strike. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='42416'> <reference source='https://cutt.ly/5Beakb5'> As the 2022 national uprising began, Hasti Amiri, Sepideh Gholian, and Maliheh Jafari organized a sit-in across from the women's ward's exit in protest of the arrest and suppression of university students. They released a statement saying they will continue their sit-in until the suppression in universities ends and the students are released immediately, and it is guaranteed that the armed forces will not enter universities. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='42352'> <reference source='https://www.instagram.com/p/CjPZedXq_hN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link'> 12 female political prisoners in Evin Prison released a statement saying they will start a sit-in to support the national uprising of the Iranian people triggered by the murder of Mahsa Amini. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='46702'> In the fourth year of her incarceration, Sepideh Gholian wrote a letter from Evin Prison saying she hears the footsteps of freedom from all over the country, and Evin Prison can't silence the voice of "Women, Life, Freedom". In the letter she mentions witnessing an interrogation in Evin Prison, saying the woman was wearing thin clothes in the cold during interrogation. She also mentions her own experience of a coerced confession in December 2018 and talks about humiliation and insults from the interrogators, getting frisked by men, and constant fear of rape and torture. She also revealed that state TV reported Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour played a key role in her interrogations under the alias "Ms. Asgari". </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='44876'> <reference source='https://www.instagram.com/p/ClWvnrwDMiyq4AfbzZ8BkPAQsCy0m3r6K-UfuE0/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y='> Her brother Mehdi Gholian posted a picture of the court notice, saying a new case has been brought against her sister with charges of disseminating lies, insulting the authorities and agents, and slander and defamation. He said the trial was held last week on a conference call. According to Mehdi Gholian, She has been denied family visits and phone calls since 10 days ago and their parents' visits despite the long distance had no results. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='46228'> <reference source='https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnlxaw7Kyhk/'> In her human rights report about Evin prison, Narges Mohammadi mentioned that Sepideh Gholian spent 80 days in solitary and was denied medical treatment. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='49239'> <reference source='https://www.radiofarda.com/a/32235249.html'> 30 female political prisoners in the women's ward of Evin Prison, including Sepideh Gholian, signed an open letter demanding an end to the execution of protesters and unfair sentences. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='48784'> <reference source='https://www.instagram.com/p/CoCH7KrKwDi/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=f259b7aa-e590-4a6c-9753-104d923b70bc'> Seven female political prisoners in Evin Prison namely Hasti Amiri, Noushin Jafari, Raha Askarizadeh, Sepideh Gholian, Narges Mohammadi, Alieh Motallebzadeh, and Bahareh Hedayat, released a statement expressing their disdain for the death sentence and any type of psychological torture like threat of execution and asked the people not to give up until they overturn the death sentences of protesters. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='49614'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/sepideqoliyan/status/1636000136743485442?s=20'> She was released from Prison after serving her sentence. According to a video from her Twitter account, after her release from prison, Ms. Gholian removed her hijab and chanted against the leader of the Islamic Republic. The video went viral. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='49616'> <reference source='https://bit.ly/3lI9C6D'> She was arrested by the Intelligence Ministry agents hours after her release on her way from Tehran to Dezful. According to a report from an Iran International reporter Shahed Alavi, after facing the family's resistance and the screams of her mother, the agents said they will also take her mother with them to assure the family, but minutes later they left her mother on the side of the road. Her brother Mehdi Gholian reported on Instagram that the agents had an altercation with the family and arrested the people recording the incident and deleted the videos from their phones. Hours later Ms. Gholian called her family and told them that she is in ward 209 of Evin Prison. She was not given the chance to discuss her charges or her condition. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='50478'> <reference source='https://rb.gy/xj850'> The spokesperson for the judiciary announced that a new indictment has been issued against Sepideh Gholian and said "She had committed a crime and insisted on repeating it." </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='50611'> <reference source='https://rb.gy/24d26'> In a letter from prison, Sepideh Gholian said she does not recognize the authority of a court that she considers a kangaroo court whose judge has issued the death sentences of the revolutionaries and that she will not attend any trial as long as the "Islamic execution" state is in power. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='50610'> <reference source='https://rb.gy/24d26'> She was beaten and threatened with rape. IranWire reported that after the new arrest of Spideh Gholian, during which her brother was assaulted, the security forces took her to ward 209 of Evin Prison and beat her. According to IranWire, one interrogator told Sepideh Gholian: > We'll tie your hands and feet and really take care of you. She was in ward 209 for three days without being moved into a cell and had to sleep on the cold floor of the corridor without a blanket or mattress. IranWire reported that she was initially transferred to the greater Tehran Prison and later to Qarchak Prison. But the warden of Qarchak Prison refused to receive her so she was transferred to the women's ward of Evin Prison. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='51046'> <reference source='https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr0xYDEtOBb/'> She was sentenced to two years in Prison. Her brother Mehdi Gholian announced: > On Wednesday we realized Sepideh was sentenced to two years in prison. Another two years. It means to restart something that was already finished. It is likely that Ms. Gholian was charged with insulting the leader. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='52099'> An informed source told Atlas that Branch 36 of the Court of Appeals of Tehran province has confirmed the verdict of the lower court against Sepideh Gholian. According to this informed source, he was sentenced to two years in prison for the charge of insulting the leader, and as an additional punishment, he was banned from being a member of political and social groups, banned from using a smartphone, and banned from staying in Tehran province and neighboring provinces for two years. This sentence was issued in the middle of April 2023 by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court headed by Iman Afshari. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='52568'> An informed source told Atlas that according to the notice sent to Sepideh Gholian, he was sent to the criminal court branch 1207-2 at Kachooei Judicial Complex due to the complaint of Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour, a journalist of state-TV, on the charges of disseminating lies in cyberspace and propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran in cyberspace. This informed source said that Ms. Gholian was previously sentenced to eight months in prison by Judge Mohammad Reza Radmand in branch 24 of Tehran Revolutionary Court for the charge of propaganda activities in this case. According to this informed source, Sepideh Gholian published a message from prison saying that she would not participate in this court which will be held on July 19, 2023. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='52569'> <reference source='https://rb.gy/o9dpj'> According to Voice of America, the Union of Public Service Workers of Europe published an open letter addressed to the authorities of the Islamic Republic, demanding the release of Reza Shahabi, Sepideh Gholian, and Hassan Saeedi, and emphasizing the reversal of the prison sentence of Farzaneh Zilabi, a lawyer for a number of workers in Khuzestan province. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='52960'> According to an informed IPA source, Sepideh Gholian was notified that the trial in connection with Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour's complaint will be public. This informed source said that Sepideh Gholian published a letter addressed to the "honorable people of Iran" and wrote: > As you know, I had announced that I would not participate in the show court of the Islamic Republic following the complaint of reporter Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour. Today they informed me that my trial will be held publicly tomorrow, since I have no fear of telling the truth in public, I decided to participate in this trial and defend myself. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='52961'> According to an IPA source, Sepideh Gholian's trial session was canceled by the judge due to her refusal to wear the mandatory hijab. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='54940'> The second session of the court hearing for the charges against Sepideh Gholian was held at branch 1207 of the criminal court-2 of the Kachouei judicial complex in Tehran. According to an Atlas source, the court session was held with the change of the judge and the presence of Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour, a radio reporter and the plaintiff of the case. According to the Atlas source, Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour, referring to Sepideh Gholian's presence without hijab in court, introduced her as a "criminal" and the judge also said that for this reason, he will issue a guilty verdict for Sepideh Gholian for the second time. According to this source, during the court session, Ms. Zabihpour repeatedly threatened Sepideh Gholian and said: > I will not let you get out of prison. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='54942'> According to an Atlas source, Sepideh Gholian was sentenced to one year and three months in prison by Branch 1207 of the Criminal Court-2 of Tehran's Shahid Kachouei Judicial Complex, headed by Shamsoddin Jalili Piran, for the charge of publishing falsehoods. According to this source, it is stated in the court order that "appropriate orders have been issued regarding the court's declaration of the crime against Sepideh Gholian for removing the hijab and promoting corruption and prostitution and her insistence on committing the crime described in the court hearings." According to the Atlas source, this case with two accusations of disseminating lies and propaganda against the state was filed in 2019 with the complaint of Amenehsadat Zabihpour and the Ministry of Intelligence, and a summons was issued in February of 2019 by Samad Hadipour, the investigator of the third branch of the Evin Prosecutor's Office. Sepideh Gholian was previously sentenced to eight months in prison by Branch 24 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran in Mehr 2021 for his propaganda activities in this case. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='53477'> <reference source='https://tinyurl.com/yvtcx9rb'> Sepideh Gholian and Mahboubeh Rezaei wrote a letter warning about the deterioration of Zohreh Sarv's condition and wrote that they are witnessing her "melting bit by bit". According to Radio Farda, and based on this letter, Zohreh Sarv "started a hunger strike in protest against the injustices she suffered from September 2021 and four months of inhuman exile to Qarchak prison until today." In this letter, they have also stated the reason why the judge disagreed with Zohreh Sarv's conditional release, even though one-third of her prison term had been served, is that her case interrogator has not agreed to it. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='54411'> <reference source='https://www.instagram.com/p/C1eGt4nqyuL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA=='> 250 judges and judicial officials in Tehran province visited Evin prison. According to the report of Iran International, Iman Afshari, head of branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court, Mohammad Reza Amouzad, head of branch 28 of Tehran Revolutionary Court, Ali Ghanaatkar, head of the Security Prosecutor's Office, and Ali Al-Ghasimehr, chief justice of Tehran province, were among the visitors. Narges Mohammadi, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, described in a letter from prison what happened during this visit to the women's ward of Evin Prison. Following this visit, a few days later, Emtedad wrote that 14 female political prisoners were denied phone calls, and about five women were denied the right to weekly visits. According to the report of Emtedad, Sarvenaz Ahmadi, Anisha Asadollahi, Golrokh Iraei, and Narges Mohammadi are among the female prisoners who have been denied the right to contact their families. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='54413'> <reference source='http://tinyurl.com/3t8n83wj'> During a press conference, Masoud Setayeshi, the spokesman of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic, said the phone disconnection of the Evin women's ward was the responsibility of the prison warden. In response to a question in this regard, he said that according to the executive regulations of the Prisons Organization, "the management of such matters and the affairs of the penal institution is the responsibility of the warden of the penal institution". </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='54417'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2024/hranews/a-46012/'> HRANA wrote that Anisha Asadollahi, Reyhaneh Ansarinejad, Forough Taghipour, Shiva Esmaili, Marzieh Farsi, Arghavan Fallahi, Sepideh Gholian, Nasim Soltanbeigi, Sarvenaz Ahmadi, Golrokh Iraee, Nagin Najaf Rostami, Mahbobeh Rezaei, and Narges Mohammadi are still denied contact with their families. Also, a family member of Shakila Monfared announced in a conversation with HRANA that she has not been in contact with her family for some time. An informed source while confirming this news told HRANA: "The prisoners have been deprived of the possibility of contact for a month, even though the prison disciplinary committee did not notify them in writing. However, they have not had any contact with their families since eight days ago. HRANA also wrote that Negin Najaf Rostami, Mahboubeh Rezaei, and Narges Mohammadi, in addition to the mentioned period, have been banned from making phone calls to their families for 20 days due to their continuous protests in prison regarding the lack of response to their demands. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='55721'> According to an Atlas source, Sepideh Gholian wrote in a letter from Evin prison to the Munich security conference, which was read by Masih Alinjad: > The Woman, Life, Freedom movement is not a movement that will sleep soon, a generation has risen during this revolution that is not only questioning the Islamic Republic but authoritarian thinking. She continued: > The revolution has highs and lows and the democratic countries and international assemblies must be the voice of the civil society, human rights, and democratic institutions of Iran in exactly such a situation. Referring to the high number of people executed by the Islamic Republic, she wrote: > Look at the statistics of executions in Iran, each one of these statistics was a life, we are being suppressed more severely because of our stronger resistance. </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='56603'> <reference source='https://tinyurl.com/cjzc7j5n'> In a report, Iranwire discussed Sepideh Gholian's second published book, which was recently published by IranWire. In this report, it is stated that this book is about the lives of women she has seen in different prisons in Iran. In this report and in an interview with Sepideh Gholian, IranWire discussed the book's narrative, "scandal" and the personal space of a prisoner to write. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='56602'> <reference source='https://tinyurl.com/nwsfz2wh'> Sepideh Gholian went on a hunger strike. Publishing this news, IranWire wrote that she "started a hunger strike in protest of her five-year exile and said that she will continue her hunger strike until she is transferred to Ahvaz prison." The report states that Sepideh Gholian lives in Ahvaz, but she was transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran to serve her sentence. According to this report, she is on hunger strike while she is suffering from stomach ulcer and a hunger strike may seriously endanger his health. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>