The attempt of suicide by Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani in the central prison of Urmia
Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani, known as "Sareh", 31, from Naqadeh, who was sentenced to death last
Hengaw: Saturday , September 10, 2022
Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani, known as "Sareh", 31, from Naqadeh, who was sentenced to death last week on charges of corruption on Earth through promoting homosexuality, .committed suicide on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, by taking pills.
Hengaw sources have reported that Sareh was transferred to Razi hospital in Urmia due to her serious physical condition and after gastric lavage, she was transferred to the women's ward of Urmia central prison, and she is now in a bad mental condition.
This is the second case of female inmates committing suicide in the women's ward of Urmia Central Prison in the past month. Not long ago, So'da Khadirzadeh, a Kurdish political prisoner, also hanged herself after administering sleeping pills to her two-month-old child.
An informed source told Hengaw: "Last week, Urmia prison officials humiliated Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani and Elham Chubdar in front of other prisoners in the women's ward and said that there is no place for such people in Iran and their death sentence will be executed soon.
Hengaw reported earlier that Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani and Elham Chubdar, 24 from Urmia, both activists of the LGBT community, were sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court of Urmia in a joint case on charges of corruption on Earth through promoting homosexuality. The verdict was announced to them in women's ward of Urmia Central Prison.
On Sunday, January 16, 2022, the two activists of the LGBT community were accused by the Urmia General Court of "corruption on Earth" through "promoting homosexuality", "promoting Christianity", and "communication with the media opposing the Islamic Republic".
Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani was arrested on Wednesday, October 27, 2021, while going to Turkey and at the border of this country by the intelligence forces of the IRGC and after about two months of detention in the solitary confinement of the intelligence detention center of the IRGC in Urmia, she was transferred to the women's ward of the central prison.
It should be noted that Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani was deprived of the right to access a lawyer during her detention, and besides verbal harassment and insults to her identity and appearance, the security agents threatened her with execution and deprivation of custody of her two children.
Amnesty International previously reported that "Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani, human rights defender and member of the LGBT community, is under arrest arbitrarily against international standards and is kept in the central prison of Urmia, simply because of her sexual orientation, real or assumed gender identity, her posts and statements on social media in defense of the rights of homosexuals, bisexuals, Transgender, and intersex.
