Jailed Iranian Activist Qoliyan Refuses to Wear Hijab in Court

The trial of Iranian civil rights activist Sepideh Qoliyan could not take place because she refused to wear the mandatory hijab during the hearing, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported on July 19. 

Government media said that the trial could be watched online.

Qoliyan is serving a two-year prison sentence in Tehran’s Evin prison for "insulting" the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader.

A new case was opened against the outspoken political prisoner following a complaint filed by state TV employee Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour.

Ahead of her trial, Qoliyan announced that she would not appear before “the show court of the Islamic Republic."

But in a letter seen by IranWire on July 18, she said she had changed her mind after learning that the trial would be held in public.

“Since I have no fear of telling the truth in public, I decided to participate in this trial and defend myself,” she wrote.

Qoliyan was initially detained during a workers’ strike in November 2018 and later sentenced to 19 years and six months in prison. The sentence was reduced to five years on appeal. 

The activist was released on March 15 this year after being granted “amnesty” but was soon re-arrested after shouting outside Tehran’s Evin prison, “Khamenei the Zahhak! We'll take you down into the grave." She referred to a mythical king said to have fed serpents growing out of his shoulders with young people’s brains. In May, Qoliyan was sentenced to two years imprisonment for “insulting” Supreme Leader Ali Khameni.

The activist was forced into confessing during her detention in 2018 and, following her release from prison, she described the role played by Zabihpour.

"Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour was present in the interrogation room. After hours of physical and mental torture, she prepared a pre-written text for me to read in front of the camera," Qoliyan said.

She filed a complaint against Zabihpour, but the judicial system of the Islamic Republic swiftly closed the case.