The long time imprisonment of an unknown human rights activist in the 209 lockup

On the 9th of September the agents of the intelligence agency stormed an unknown human rights activist’s home, named Ms Sepideh Pour-aghayi and confiscated her computer, her books and also her handwritten notes, and afterwards arrested her.
The following day, her friends reported that on the same day that Sepideh was arrested, the Intelligence agency’s agents performed a raid simultaneously against five other political activists named, Abbas Khorsandi, Meysam Rudaki, Bahram Rasekhifar, Mansour Faraji and Ghasem Shirzadiyan, arresting all of them. All five are acquaintances with Sepideh.

Some of these arrestees such as Mansour Faraji were temporarily released from prison upon bail. According to Sepideh´s family, the interrogation of Sepideh seized one month ago, but she is still imprisoned in the notorious high security lockup of 209. Sepideh was detained in solitary confinement for approximately 60 days, and is now detained in a small cell for 3.

During this imprisonment in the security lockup of 209, neither Sepideh Pour-Aghayi nor her friends have been allowed to make contact with a defense attorney, not to mention the constant pressures and interrogations that they have to endure.

A Few days after the arrestment of Sepideh Pour-Aghayi, a website closely associated with the security service in Iran named “Bulletin News”, falsely published that Sepideh was a collaborator with Hale Esfandiyari (An American-Iranian progressive intellectual that was arrested by the intelligence agency in Iran).

Some times ago Sepideh´s Mother reported that her daughter made a phone call from prison to her house and told her that she was in the investigation and interrogation phase and that no allegations had been made.

Sepideh Pour-Aghayi holds a BA in English language. She used to be a reporter for the closed newspaper “Gozareshe Rooz” and for the two past years, she has been fighting for human rights and the defense of political prisoners. She volunteered in the campaign “One million signatures” for ending the discrimination against women’s rights.