Tehran: Former political prisoner Glareh Abbasi jailed to serve sentence

Hengaw - Saturday, June 7, 2025

Glareh Abbasi, a former political prisoner and resident of Tehran, has been arrested and transferred to Evin Prison to begin serving a prison sentence of two years and nine months. She had previously been sentenced in early May 2025 to a total of three years and nine months for “collusion and assembly against national security” and “propaganda against the state.”

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Saturday, June 7, 2025, the 49-year-old activist was taken arrested after appearing at the Evin Prosecutor’s Office to follow up on her case. She was then transferred to Evin Prison to serve her sentence. In accordance with Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, only the maximum sentence—33 months—is enforceable.

Abbasi’s sentence had been upheld in full by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Abbas-Ali Howzan.

She had previously been arrested on February 21, 2025, when intelligence agents raided her home in western Tehran. She was released on March 28, 2025 after posting a one-billion-toman bail.

Abbasi has a prior history of political persecution. She was previously sentenced to two years and six months in prison by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court under Judge Iman Afshari on similar charges. She served several months in Evin Prison before being conditionally released in February 2023 after suffering a heart attack behind bars, which was attributed to her inability to withstand prison conditions.

Glareh Abbasi is the head of her household and mother to a teenage daughter. She suffers from multiple chronic health conditions, including spinal disc disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis, and has been deemed medically unfit to endure prison.