Mother of a slain protester denied lawyer and family visits in Iranian prison

Mina Soltani, mother of a protester killed during the ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’ uprising two years ago, is held in solitary confinement in prison. No official explanation has been provided to her family about the reasons for her arrest or her current condition.

Mina Soltani, the mother of Shahriar Mohammadi, a protester killed during the anti-government ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’ (Woman, Life, Freedom) uprising in 2022 in Bukan, remains in detention without access to legal representation or family visits, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported.

Since her arrest on 11 September, Soltani has had only one brief phone call with a relative, during which she revealed that she is being held in solitary confinement in Orumiyeh Central Prison, according to KHRN. She revealed that she is transferred daily to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Orumiyeh for interrogation and returned to her solitary confinement cell at night.

Her detention continues as the authorities have denied her access to her medication and no official explanation has been provided to her family about the reasons for her arrest or her current condition.

Soltani was arrested without a warrant at her home in Bukan on the evening of 11 September and taken to the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Orumiyeh.

The dadkhah (a Persian term used for victims’ relatives and survivors seeking truth and justice) mother has faced constant pressure and threats from security forces over the past two years due to her activism following the death of her son, Shahiyar Mohammadi.

Mohammadi was shot and wounded by security forces during anti-government protests in Bukan on 18 November 2022, and later died in hospital due to his injuries.