A coalition of lawyers, representatives from the French parliament, artists, and women's rights activists have called for the release of 12 detained women's rights activists in Iran.
A letter, which was sent to the Iranian embassy in France on August 22, states that the activists were arrested in the northern province of Gilan.
The activists were arrested on August 16 at their homes in the cities of Rasht, Foman and Anzali, the feminist Twitter account Bidarzani reported.
They include Forough Sami-nia, Yasamin Hashdari, Jelveh Javaheri, Zahra Dadras, Zohreh Dadras and Negin Rezaei.
There is no information available about their whereabouts.
The letter also states that the activists have been detained in undisclosed locations and have not been allowed to contact their families or lawyers.
"We remind you that no individual should face persecution due to their beliefs and freedom of expression is unequivocally safeguarded by the principles enshrined within the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, an agreement of which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a signatory," the letter reads.
The letter's signatories argue that the arrests are a violation of the activists' right to freedom of expression and assembly.
The Iranian government has a long history of silencing and imprisoning women who speak out for their rights.
Anger over the suppression of human rights in Iran has boiled over since the September 2022 death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly wearing a hijab improperly.
The nationwide protest movement appears to have waned in recent months following a bloody crackdown by security forces, but resistance to forced hijab rules remains strong, with images of unveiled women in public spaces being widely shared on social media.
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