Zhina Modares Gorji, a Kurdish journalist and prominent women’s rights activist, was sent to Sanandaj Central Prison on 2 November to serve her 16-month prison sentence.
Gorji turned herself in to the Enforcement of Judgements Office in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, on 2 November, following a summons issued last month after her original sentence was reduced on appeal from 21 years to 28 months.
A group of women activists accompanied the Kurdish activist to the courthouse.
In a message posted on her Instagram on 2 November, Gorji reflected on the conditions in Sanandaj Women’s Prison, noting, “Today I am going to a prison where the margins and discrimination are tripled – Sanandaj Women’s Prison. Marginalisation and discrimination based on gender, class and nationality. But when I packed my things for the prison, the first thing I put in my bag was hope. I am going there with my hope.”
Modares Gorji was initially sentenced to 21 years in prison by a lower court, later reduced to 28 months on appeal. According to the final verdict, she was acquitted of the charge of “collaborating with hostile groups and states”, but was sentenced to one year in prison for “propaganda against the state” and 16 months for “forming an illegal group with the aim of overthrowing the regime”.
Under Article 134 of the Iranian Islamic Penal Code, the Law on Consolidation of Sentences, the 16-month sentence is enforceable as the most severe charge.
Background
Modares Gorji, a journalist and a prominent veteran activist of the women’s movement in Kurdistan and Iran, was first beaten and arrested during the anti-government uprising of Women, Life, Freedom in Sanandaj on 21 September 2022.
After 42 days, she was provisionally released on 1 November 2022 on bail of 1 billion Iranian rials – nearly 2,000 USD, which was later increased to 10 billion rials after new charges were brought against her.
She was arrested a second time by security forces on 10 April 2023, and after 84 days was temporarily released from the women’s ward of the Juvenile Detention Centre of Sanandaj on 3 July 2023 on a hefty bail of 50 billion rials.
She spent the first month of her detention in solitary confinement under harsh conditions.
Between her two arrests, she was constantly under pressure and surveillance by security agencies and the judiciary.
In April of this year, the Sanandaj Municipality’s police in charge of supervising public facilities and locations also sealed off her bookstore, Zhira, for several days on the pretext of “failing to observe Islamic hijab.”
The first court session to address the charges against the Kurdish women’s rights activist was held on 12 February 2023, in Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, presided over by Judge Akbari, the second session was held on 13 September 2023, in the same court presided over by Judge Saeidi, and the third session was held on 9 April 2024, presided over by Judge Karami.
In May 2024, Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj sentenced Modares Gorji to 21 years in prison, including 10 years for “forming an illegal group with the aim of overthrowing the regime”, 10 years for “collaborating with hostile groups and states” and one year for “propaganda against the state”.
According to the verdict, the charges stemmed from her alleged activities, including “establishing the Zhivano Association with a feminist ideology aimed at overthrowing the state”, “participating in gatherings and chanting subversive slogans”, “maintaining contacts with anti-revolutionary elements”, “attending international educational conferences and workshops”, and “publishing materials in cyberspace and giving interviews to foreign media to negatively portray the country and create unrest following the death of Mahsa Amini”.
The Islamic Revolutionary Court had based its decision on reports from the Ministry of Intelligence, citing “security risks” in serving her sentence in Sanandaj due to “the possibility of destructive security activities”, and ordered, under Article 513 of the Criminal Procedure Code, that she serve her sentence in Hamadan Prison instead.
