Sepideh Gholian Moved to a Prison in South Iran

Civil rights activist Sepideh Gholian has been transferred from Evin Prison in Tehran to a remote facility in Bushehr.

A source close to the case told IranWire that the 25-year-old had been escorted out of Evin Prison at midnight on Wednesday, March 10, and arrived at Bushehr the following day. They said she was in handcuffs and chains throughout the journey.

Sepideh had repeatedly asked to be transferred back to Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz, Khuzestan, where her family lives and where she has been held before. It was only on the journey, the source said, that she realised she was being taken to Bushehr instead.

Sepideh was first arrested in November 2018 for covering labor protests at the Haft Tappeh Sugar Factory, in her capacity as activist and journalist. She was tortured and held in solitary confinement for 30 days at an intelligence detention facility together with unionist Esmail Bakhshi before being moved to Sepidar, a women’s prison, and later to Evin Prison.

Last year she was temporarily released during the coronavirus pandemic and wrote a memoir about her time behind bars, which has been published by IranWire.

In July 2020 she was summoned back to Evin Prison to resume her five-year sentence. Sepideh’s abrupt transfer to Bushehr is the second such incident in recent days, following the transfer of Maryam Akbari Monfared, another political prisoner in Evin, to Semnan.

Related coverage:

Sepideh’s Diary: A Shocking Glimpse into Women’s Prisons in Iran

The Last Interview with Sepideh Gholian Before Her Arrest

Agents Target Jailed Activist's Family in Brutal Attack

Imprisoned Activist Speaks Out for All Women Prisoners