Sepideh Gholian sentenced to 6 months in prison and a 5-year suspended sentence

Hengaw – Saturday, April 4, 2026

Sepideh Gholian, a civil activist and former political prisoner who was re-arrested a few months ago and is currently being held in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, has been sentenced by the Iranian judiciary to both a custodial and a suspended prison term. At the same time, security pressure on her family has sharply intensified.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Gholian was recently sentenced by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Mashhad, in a case opened during her latest arrest, to six months of imprisonment and a five-year suspended prison sentence.

She was arrested by Iranian authorities on December 12, 2025, during a ceremony held for lawyer Khosrow Alikurdi, along with a number of other women activists, including Narges Mohammadi, Alieh Motalebzadeh, Pouran Nazemi, and Hasti Amiri. Khosrow Alikurdi was a defense lawyer who later died under suspicious circumstances following his arrest by Iranian authorities.

Sources close to the family stated that, under pressure from security institutions, she has been denied her legal right to furlough leading to release. This is despite the fact that, due to wartime conditions and the country’s critical situation, many prisoners have been granted temporary leave, while Iranian authorities have prevented Sepideh Gholian from being granted furlough.

As her imprisonment continues, pressure from Iranian authorities on Gholian’s family has also intensified. Over recent months, her father and brother have repeatedly been summoned, interrogated, and placed under pressure by government institutions.

Sepideh Gholian, who has previously spent years in various prisons, is currently being held in poor conditions and under additional pressure in the women’s ward of Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad (Ward 6).