Women’s rights activist Nahid Shaghaghi was arrested at home on May 15, 2019, for unknown reasons.
On the same day Shaghaghi’s brother, Kaveh, wrote on his Instagram page: “Nahid called us this morning [May 15, 2019] and said there are security agents at her front door.”
“When I got to her house I saw the door had been broken and no one was home. We don’t know where she is or even who arrested her. We went to Evin Prison and her local police station to ask what had happened to her but we didn’t get any information. We are worried,” Kaveh added.
Security forces broke into her house and brutalized Nahid Shaghaghi and took her away to an unknown location.
On May 16, VIW’s channel on the Telegram messaging app reported that Shaghaghi was being interrogated in Evin Prison’s Ward 209, which is under the control of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry.
Nahid Shaghaghi is a senior member of the charity group Voice of Iranian Women (VIW), which has been involved in aid and rescue operations during the recent devastating floods in southwestern Iran.
She has been active defending women’s rights and children’s rights over the past few years. On March 8, 2019, she made a speech in Tehran on the International Women’s Day on the roots of violence against women.
Three weeks before Shaghaghi’s arrest, another member of VIW, Akram Nasirian was arrested by unidentified security agents in Tehran.
Prior to her arrest, Nasirian had also worked in flood-impacted areas of the country.
She is being held also in Evin Prison’s Ward 209, reportedly accused of “promoting non-observance of the hijab” and “disturbing public opinion,” with no access to legal counsel.
