Alieh Motalebzadeh temporarily released from prison due to critical health condition

Hengaw – Thursday, January 15, 2026

Alieh Motalebzadeh, a photographer and journalist who was detained during the seventh-day memorial ceremony for the suspicious death of Khosrow Alikurdi, has been temporarily released from prison after posting bail. Her release was carried out due to her critical health condition.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, the 59-year-old journalist was temporarily released from Vakilabad Prison after more than a month in detention.

Ghazal Abdollahi, Motalebzadeh’s daughter, told Hengaw that her mother’s health severely deteriorated while she was denied access to adequate medical care. She said authorities were ultimately compelled to release her on bail in order to avoid responsibility for the consequences of a life-threatening condition.

She added that Motalebzadeh, who suffers from breast cancer, was subjected to physical violence during her detention and was repeatedly struck in the chest area, including the breast that had previously undergone surgery.

Until shortly before her release, the journalist was held in the same cell as Narges Mohammadi, Pouran Nazemi, Sepideh Gholian, and Hasti Amiri. All of these individuals remain in detention.

Motalebzadeh was arrested on Friday, December 12, 2025, by government forces in Mashhad while attending the seventh-day memorial ceremony for Alikurdi, a Kurdish lawyer from Sabzevar.