A report on the arrest of 12 citizens in different cities by Iranian government forces

Hengaw: Sunday, September 17, 2023

Leila Naghdipari, Nima Rezaei, Ali Noorani, Alireza Fazeli, and Mahnaz Tarah, five citizens living in Tehran, Houshmand Rozbahan, and Farood Bahamin, Bahai citizens living in Isfahan, Daniyal Mehrshadi from Hashtgerd, Asghar Nikokar, an artist from Zarghan, Fars province, Sheida Saberi, from Yasouj, Sajjad Yaqoubi from Shanderman, and Hamid Reza Najafi, a resident of Arak, have been arrested by Iranian government forces.
 

According to the report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Sunday, September 17, 2023, Leila Naghdipari, a member of the Board of Directors of the Iranian Cinema Designers Association and a cinema set designer, was arrested in Tehran.
 

Following today's arrests, Hamid Reza Najafi, 41 years old and a resident of Arak, was arrested after being summoned to the Public and Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office of this city. He was previously sentenced to four months in prison and fined by the Iranian judiciary for "spreading falsehood".
 

On the same day, a citizen named Nima Rezaei, 31 years old and a resident of Tehran, was arrested by Iranian government forces in one of the streets of this city.
 

Nima Rezaei was severely beaten while in detention, and due to his chronic nervous illness, his detention has seriously concerned his family regarding his health. 
 

Before that, on Saturday, September 16, 2023, two Baha'i citizens named Houshmand Rozbahan and Farood Bahamin, residents of the newly established city of Baharestan, Isfahan province, were arrested by Iranian government forces.
 

Also, Daniyal Mehrshadi from Hashtgerd, Isfahan, was arrested during the popular protests in Tehran and his fate remains unknown.

The mass arrests on September 16, 2023, finally reached artists as well, and Ali Noorani, director, writer, and theater actor, was arrested in an attack by Iranian government forces on his home in Amirabad, Tehran.
 

During the arrests on Saturday, two other citizens named Alireza Fazli (Farhad Omidi) and Mahnaz Tarah, residents of Tehran, were also arrested. These two citizens have been arrested before for their activities.
 

Sheida Saberi, a women's and children's rights activist, was arrested by the Iranian government forces in Yasouj yesterday and transferred to an undisclosed location.
 

She was arrested in October of last year while walking in the streets of Yasouj with a protest placard and was released on bail after about two weeks.
 

Earlier, on Friday, September 15, 2023, Sajjad Yaqoubi, a theater actor from Shanderman, Masal, Gilan province, was arrested by the Iranian government forces and transferred to an undisclosed location.

Also, last week, on Sunday, September 10, 2023, Asghar Nikokar, a musician from Zarghan City, Fars province, was arrested by Iranian government forces and his fate remains unknown.