Prominent Iranian Activist Gholian Beaten, Threatened with Rape in Custody

Well-known civil rights activist Sepideh Qolyian, who is awaiting trial for “insulting” the Islamic Republic’s leader, has been subjected to physical abuse and threatened with rape while in custody, a relative told IranWire.

Qolyian was re-arrested last month, hours after she posted on Twitter a video of herself without the mandatory hijab shouting slogans against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei upon her release from Tehran’s Evin prison.

Her case was sent to branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, which is scheduled to start hearings on April 18. Gholianan said she won’t take part in the proceedings.

Qolyian 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 after being granted “amnesty.” 

“Khamenei the Zahhak! We'll take you down into the grave," she shouted outside Evin prison, referring to a mythical king said to have fed serpents growing out of his shoulders with young people’s brains. 

As the video showing Qolyian's act of defiance was spreading on social media, police stopped the car carrying Gholian and her family and detained the activist. 

After being held for several hours in Arak, south-west of Tehran, she was transferred to Ward 209 of Evin prison on the same day.

“I Should Cut your Tongue off"

Her relative told IranWire that upon entering the ward, a muscular man rushed toward Qolyian and asked, "Are you a little elf who insulted Agha?”

“I should cut your tongue off," the man added.

The man attempted to pull the activist’s tongue out and beat her for several hours while threatening her with rape. 

"We will tie your hands and feet and take good care of you!" the interrogators told Qolyian. 

In Ward 209, she was forced to sleep on the floor in the corridors without any blanket.

She was informed that she would be transferred to Tehran's Fashafouye prison. When Qolyian expressed surprise at being sent to a male prison, her jailers said, "A men’s prison is the right place for a woman like you. You want to draw men's attention with your work, and we’ll help you achieve your goals."

On March 19, she was taken to Fashafouye prison. In front of the facility, she was left in a car for hours with a siren blaring. 

After that, while being taunted, Qolyian was then taken to Varamin’s Qarchak prison, which refused to admit her. 

After wandering for a long time, the activist was returned to the women's ward of Evin prison at 11 p.m.

The Court has “no Legitimacy’

In a letter released from Evin prison on April 13, Qolyian said the court handling her case has no legitimacy and that she will not participate in the legal proceedings as long as the government of “Islamic executions” remains in power. 

"Our promise still stands. Freedom is not to be given but to be taken, and I, Sepideh Qolyian, stand by the promise I made to the people of Iran," she wrote.

Hours earlier, the judiciary announced it had charged Gholian with “insult” and that the indictment was sent to the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on March 19.

According to documents obtained by IranWire, the indictment is based on Article 514 of the Islamic Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment ranging from six months to two years for a person who insults Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, or the supreme leader.