Roya Zakeri is the identity of a young woman who was detained by security forces on Sunday, October 15, and a video of her titled “Tabriz Girl” went viral on social media.
According to eyewitnesses, Roya Zakeri, was harassed by a female Hijab patrol on Sunday, October 15, 2023, around noon in Monjam Street, Tabriz, for not wearing the mandatory hijab. The security forces beat her badly.
In protest against their behavior, Ms. Zakeri began chanting slogans and defiantly shouted “Death to the dictator” and “Death to Khamenei” in the face of the security forces. Government agents abducted her from the crowd using an ambulance and took her to Razi Hospital (a Neurology and Psychiatry Hospital) in Tabriz.
Government-affiliated media outlets have falsely claimed that Ms. Zakari had a mental illness and was experiencing delusions on the street. They stated that she had been transferred to medical facilities for treatment. However, she was in perfect mental and psychological health, and her shouts were not delusions but rather an act of protest against the actions of the security forces.
Roya Zakeri is a 31-year-old single woman who has a master’s degree in computer science. She is currently in an unknown condition in the women’s ward of Razi Hospital. She is originally from the city of Marand and resides in Tabriz.
Roya Zakeri was arrested by security forces last year during the nationwide protests in October 2022 in front of Tabriz University. She was detained for an unspecified period. As she mentions in the video, she went on a hunger strike for five consecutive days during her detention.
According to the reports received by the Iran Human Rights Monitor (IranHRM), Roya Zakeri, from the city of Marand, was transferred to Razi Hospital (Neurology and Psychiatry Hospital) in Tabriz immediately after her arrest, which occurred four days ago. She has been placed under strict security measures, and her family has been prohibited from visiting her.
Transferring political prisoners to the psychiatric hospital is a common method used by the Iranian regime to suppress the opposition. Behnam Mahjoubi was one of the political prisoners who died in the psychiatric hospital in 2021.
