Hamideh Zarei, an Iranian activist, has been sentenced to 178 lashes and 18 months in prison after being arrested for not wearing a hijab.
Zarei, a Gilak activist and former political prisoner, was released from Rasht Central Prison earlier this month after nearly a month behind bars. However, she now faces a severe new sentence.
Her punishment includes nine months in prison and 74 lashes for “disrupting public order,” another nine months for “resisting law enforcement officers,” 74 lashes for “insulting an officer on duty,” and 30 lashes for “causing non-visible injuries.”
A master’s student at Tehran University, Zarei’s ordeal began on February 3 when she appeared at the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Rasht under a forced residency order. Authorities detained her for not wearing a hijab, leading to additional charges.
According to the Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights, she was held at Rasht Central Prison for 29 days before being released on bail on March 3. Reports indicate that while in custody, she was physically assaulted by two officers from the Rasht Prosecutor’s Office Protection Unit, leaving her with wrist injuries and severe bruising.
Zarei has been repeatedly targeted by Iranian authorities. In June 2023, she was arrested after being summoned to Rasht Court and sent to Lakan Prison but was released on June 10 after securing a judicial bond.
Her legal troubles date back even further. In November 2023, the Karaj Revolutionary Court, led by Judge Mousa Asafolhosseini, sentenced her to one year in prison for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran.” After accepting the verdict, her sentence was reduced to nine months.
She was first detained in Karaj on May 29, 2023, and held in Kachouii Prison until her release on February 22, 2024, after serving her sentence. Additionally, she was banned from traveling for two years, prohibited from social media use for the same period, and forced into exile in Rasht.
Her earliest known arrest occurred on November 3, 2022, when she was detained for attending a memorial marking the 40th day since security forces killed Hadis Najafi during the 2022 protests. She was imprisoned in Kachouii Prison before being released on February 7, 2024, under a so-called “pardon” directive.
Zarei’s case highlights Iran’s continued crackdown on women’s rights activists. Her latest sentencing reinforces the regime’s harsh treatment of those who challenge its restrictive laws.
This comes amid other incidents of defiance against Iran’s dress code. In November 2023, a student at Tehran’s Islamic Azad University was arrested and sent to a mental hospital after walking around in her underwear. Footage showed her pacing in front of shocked onlookers before security forces detained her and forced her into a car.
Her arrest sparked widespread calls from human rights activists for her release, as reports suggested she suffered severe injuries during the violent incident.
Since the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, an increasing number of women have rejected the mandatory hijab. Amini, 22, was arrested by morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly and later died in custody. Her death ignited the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests, which lasted for months.
A year later, in October 2023, another young woman, Armita Geravand, was reportedly injured during an encounter with police on the Tehran metro while not wearing a hijab. She later died in hospital.
