Iranian Activist Samaneh Asghari Begins Prison Term

Iranian women and children rights activist Samaneh Asghari has begun serving a one-year prison sentence, her husband says. 

Ismail Nazari, the activist's spouse, said in an Instagram post on April 3 that Asghari went to the prosecutor's office in Tehran and was transferred to Evin prison.

In November 2022, the Islamic Republic's judiciary sentenced Asghari, a student at Kharazmi University in Tehran, to one year in prison. 

This sentence included time already served in detention.

Six male police officers and a female agent, who falsely identified as water department officials, apprehended Asghari.

The student activist spent 35 days in solitary confinement at Ward 209 of Evin Prison. 

After interrogation, she was transferred to Qarchak Varamin prison, where she remained until their initial release.

Originally sentenced to 18 years and three months by Judge Abolqasem Salavati of Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, Asghari was released from Qarchak Prison under a judicial amnesty decree.

Security forces rearrested Asghari from her Tehran house on September 14, 2023. 

She was again detained in Ward 209 of Evin Prison and was later released on bail.