Bita Shafiei arrested in Khorramshahr after mother’s earlier detention

Hengaw — Thursday, November 13, 2025

Bita Shafiei, daughter of Maryam Abbasi Niko and a resident of Shahin Shahr in Isfahan Province, was arrested by security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Khorramshahr and transferred to an undisclosed location. Her mother had been arrested three days earlier after Revolutionary Guards Intelligence agents raided their family home.

Based on information obtained by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Shafiei, a resident of Shahin Shahr and one of those previously arrested during the "Woman, Life, Freedom" (Jin, Jiyan, Azadi) protests, was arrested at around 4 a.m. on Thursday, November 13, 2025, in Khorramshahr in Khuzestan Province. Security forces detained her without providing any information on her whereabouts.

Abbasi Niko, her mother, had also been arrested on Monday, November 10, 2025, by agents of the Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Organization.

Before her arrest, Shafiei wrote on Instagram about her mother’s detention, stating: “Intelligence agents stormed our home, abducted my mother, transferred her to an unknown location, and have refused to provide any answers.”

This young woman had previously been arrested and tortured in 2022 after protesting against organized attacks on schools.

Abbasi Niko had also been targeted earlier for her civil activities and faced accusations, including “insulting the Prophet” (sab al-nabi), from which she was ultimately acquitted.