The temporary detention of the prominent women’s rights activist and journalist Zhina Modares Gorji was extended for another month last week.
Modares Gorji was arrested for the second time more than a month ago in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, during the recent uprising following the government’s murder of Zhina Mahsa Amini.
On 9 May, the activist was transferred to the general ward of the Juvenile Detention Centre of Sanandaj.
She spent the first month of her detention in solitary confinement in this prison and was transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence for daily interrogation.
At the end of this interrogation, Modares Gorji faced a new charge of “spreading lies”. She had previously been charged with “propaganda against the state” and “acting against national security” by “forming an illegal group and membership in it”.
Previously, the Ministry of Intelligence forces beat and arrested Modares Gorji during the anti-government street protests in Sanandaj on 21 September 2022.
On 30 October 2022, she was released on a bail of 1 billion Iranian rials – nearly 2,000 USD – after spending 40 days in the women’s ward of the Sanandaj Central Prison.
In March, the activist was arraigned by the Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj. The investigating judge increased her bail for temporary release to 10 billion Iranian rials – nearly 20,000 USD.
Between her two arrests, Modares Gorji was under constant pressure from the security services and the judiciary.
