The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of Iran on 8 December 2023. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. The Government replied on 30 January 2024.
Regrettably, the Government did not fully address the questions in the communication, including our request that they provide information on how participating in peaceful gatherings in front of a university amounted to the crime of “gathering and colluding against national security”, punishable with a five-year prison term.
Since the communication was sent, Leila Hossein Zadeh was summoned on 27 December 2023 and is once again facing new charges from Branch 4 of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the new charges against woman human rights defender Leila Hossein Zadeh.
Ms. Leila Hossein Zadeh is a woman human rights defender and student activist, who has been advocating for women’s rights, the rights of disadvantaged people to employment, and freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. She has been prosecuted many times and has been sentenced and imprisoned in relation to her human rights work.
ALLEGATIONS
In January 2018, Ms. Hossein Zadeh was detained during a protest against escalating fuel prices. Subsequently, she was convicted of “gathering and colluding against national security” and “propaganda activity against the state” by the Tehran Revolutionary Court. Her initial prison sentences were later reduced to two and a half years on appeal. She was released from prison in May 2020 due to her immunocompromised status during the COVID-19 pandemic, while she was already on medical furlough.
On 21 June 2020, Ms. Hossein Zadeh faced new charges for alleged disruption of public order by chanting slogans when in prison. She was ultimately acquitted of this crime.
On 21 February 2021, Ms. Hossein Zadeh was sentenced to five years in prison with a two-year cyberspace ban by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. Her conviction stemmed from her participation in a student gathering at Sharif University to commemorate the birthday of a student who was incarcerated.
Subsequently, on 5 December 2021, Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals upheld the five-year sentence. Later, the execution of her prison term was suspended due to medical forensic confirmation affirming her inability to serve prison time due to her medical condition. She has been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a condition characterised by eye inflammation and severe pain, in addition to another immunocompromising ailment that has been confirmed by medical professionals affiliated with the Iranian Organization of Prisons. She has been periodically asked by the court to undergo a verification process of her medical condition, a total of five times.
On 7 December 2021, while traveling, Ms. Hossein Zadeh was arrested in Shiraz on charges of “gathering and colluding against national security” and “propaganda activity against the state,” without clear grounds provided for these allegations. Reportedly, she endured physical abuse during her detention, prompting her to file a legal complaint against the prosecution office and intelligence service in Shiraz. These complaints have not been investigated by the authorities. Subsequently, she was released on bail on 2 January 2022, following her transfer from Shiraz to Evin prison in Tehran, and the case remains pending at the prosecution office in Shiraz.
On 20 August 2022, Ms. Hossein Zadeh was violently arrested in front of her residence in Tehran by intelligence services. Following her arrest, she was detained in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, followed by transfer to two detention facilities in Shiraz, known as Soroush and House No. 100, within Adelabad Prison before being returned to Evin prison. She was eventually released after embarking on a hunger strike following five months of detention.
On 17 September 2023, Ms. Hossein Zadeh defended her post-graduate thesis on ‘National Identity versus Ethnic Identity in an Iranian Modern City’, at the University of Tehran. Subsequently, her social media posts triggered a social media smear campaign against her. Following these events, a new case was initiated against her in Branch 4 of the prosecution office, with charges of “gathering and collusion against national and external security”. She officially received notice of these charges on 15 October 2023.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express grave concern regarding the multiple legal proceedings and national security charges brought against Ms. Hossein Zadeh, which appear to be related to her peaceful human rights activism. These charges and convictions are even more concerning given her health conditions as well as the psychological impact of the smear campaign against her. The repeated judicial processes against her pose a potential threat to her already fragile health. Furthermore, we express profound concern about the absence of official investigations into the allegations of physical abuse, as raised by Ms. Hossein Zadeh.
