Kurdish civil activist Leila Pashaei arrested in Sanandaj amid widening Women’s Day crackdown

Hengaw: Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Leila Pashaei, a Kurdish women’s rights activist from Saqqez, has been arrested by Intelligence Department forces in Sanandaj. With her detention, the number of women arrested in connection with the March 8 International Women’s Day ceremony in Sanandaj has risen to four. Pashaei was arrested during  the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî" (Woman, Life, Freedom)” movement.

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Monday, March 10, 2025, 45-year-old Leila Pashaei was arrested at her family home in Sanandaj by the Intelligence Department.

She is the fourth civil activist detained for participating in the recent Women’s Day ceremony in Sanandaj, where she had delivered a special message for the event.

On the evening of March 10, 2025, Soheila Motaei, another women’s rights activist and former detainee of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, was also arrested in Dehgolan by Intelligence Department forces.

Additionally, earlier that day, Baran Saeidi, a 45-year-old civil activist, was forcibly arrested at her home without an arrest warrant, while Soma Mohammadrezaei, a 38-year-old activist, was detained at her workplace in Almas Shopping Center, Sanandaj.

Following their arrests, Leila Pashaei, Soheila Motaei, Baran Saeidi, and Soma Mohammadrezaei were transferred to an undisclosed location, and their condition remain unknown.