Nine women activists were called to appear at Evin court, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
Amir Raisian, a lawyer representing the activists told the state media that “This week the Evin court has sent a summons to a group of women activists, who are nine as of now but their number could increase.”
“The reason for the summons has been mentioned as “presenting some explanations” and we have no further information at this time,” he added.
A women’s rights activist who wanted to remain anonymous told IRNA that nine women have received the summons to appear at Evin on various dates next week.
Human rights monitors have detected a surge of crackdown targeting human rights and women’s rights activists in recent months, as part of an ‘escalating crackdown to quash Iran’s civil society completely’ and ‘leave human rights defenders in a suffocating climate of fear,’ according to Amnesty International.
“The arrests are happening within the context of the numerous protests that have been taking place in Iran since the beginning of this year,” said Mansoureh Mills, an Iran researcher at Amnesty International. “The authorities do this as a way to weaken the foundations of civil society which would otherwise provide support for people who want to take to the streets peacefully to voice their grievances.”
Tow women activists Hoda Amid and Najmeh Vahedi, were released on bail yesterday.
Human rights lawyer and women’s rights activist Hoda Amid was arrested at her home on September 1, just a day after the arrests of human rights lawyers Payam Derafshan and Farokh Forouzan. Payam Derafshan and Farokh Forouzan were arrested on 31 August while visiting the home of another recently jailed lawyer, Arash Keykhosravi, in the city of Karaj, north-west of Tehran.
Also, on the same day, women’s rights activist Najmeh Vahedi was arrested by the Intelligence Unit of the Revolutionary Guards at her home in Tehran.
