Iran: Sepideh Qolian suddenly transferred to a different prison. CFWIJ expresses deep concern regarding Sepideh’s sentence.

March 12, 2021, Tehran - Sepideh Qolian was suddenly shifted to a different prison facility on March 11, without warning. Sepideh is currently serving a five-year-prison sentence for covering a workers’ rally and reporting on the torture she experienced in state detention. During her conflict with state authorities, Qolian has been targeted with a vicious slander campaign on national television, as well as arbitrary legal decisions.

Sepideh Qolian, a citizen journalist, was initially arrested in November 2018 in Shush, southwest Iran, for covering a peaceful demonstration by sugar mill workers who were demanding their unpaid salaries. While others who were arrested at the protest, were released within days, Sepideh was detained for a month without any legal representation, until she was eventually released on bail. Upon release, Sepideh spoke to Amnesty International about the torture she suffered while in custody. Sepideh alleged physical assault and sexual threats. According to Amnesty International, “during her daily interrogation sessions, which started around 10am and lasted until the early hours of the following morning, intelligence officials repeatedly subjected her to sexual insults, calling her a “whore”, accused her of having sexual relationships with workers and threatened to have her family kill her ‘in the name of honour’.”

The interview caused major backlash in Iran. In response, the authorities decided to run a “documentary” on Sepideh, where she apparently confessed to her crimes in prison and admitted to working with Donald Trump and other anti-national elements to overthrow the Iranian regime. Sepideh argued that the confession were taken under duress, and were in and of themselves the proof of torture she has had to endure. The broadcast was also a flagrant violation of the criminal due process, since Article 96 of Iran's Criminal Procedures Regulations, prohibits and criminalizes revealing the identity and images of suspects before conviction.

On January 20, 2019, Sepideh was rearrested. She was granted bail on February 9, 2020 before being taken into custody again on June 21, 2020. She is currently serving a five year long prison sentence for "anti-Islamic Republic regime propaganda" and "disseminating fake news". On March 11, 2021, Sepideh was suddenly shifted to a different prison facility in Bushehr without any prior warning. It is located over 370 miles from where her family lives.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the treatment of Sepideh Qolian by the Iranian authorities in the strongest terms. Imprisonment and torture of critical voices, specially those of women, has become rampant in the country. This sudden shift, away from her close connections, given her treatment in prison in the past aggravates our oncern. The state of Iran, needs to not only immediately release Sepideh, but also offer an unconditional apology and reparations for the physical and mental anguish caused to her in the time she has been in custody.