Prominent women’s rights activist and journalist Zhina Modares Gorji, who has been detained since 10 April, has been charged with “collaborating with a hostile state”.
On 21 June, Gorji was transferred from the Juvenile Detention Centre in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, to the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, where she was charged with the new offence, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned.
She had previously been charged with “spreading lies”, “propaganda against the state” and “acting against national security” by “forming an illegal group and membership in it”.
Modares Gorji was arrested for the second time on 10 April in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, during the recent anti-government protests sparked by the state murder of Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini.
On 9 May, the activist was transferred to the general ward of the Juvenile Detention Centre of Sanandaj.
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.
