Kurdish Political Prisoner Soheila Mohammadi Denied Leave Despite Securing Bail
In the central prison of Urmia, Soheila Mohammadi, a Kurdish political prisoner, continues to b
Hengaw: Wednesday, November 8, 2023
In the central prison of Urmia, Soheila Mohammadi, a Kurdish political prisoner, continues to be denied the right to temporary leave, despite having posted bail. This denial is a result of obstruction by the prison authorities. Over the past three years, Mohammadi has resorted to hunger strikes multiple times as a form of protest.
According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Soheila Mohammadi, a female political prisoner hailing from Selmas, currently confined in the women’s ward of Urmia’s Central Prison, deposited a substantial bail of two billion and five hundred million nearly three months ago to secure temporary release. Regrettably, her request has been persistently denied by the prison authorities.
Soheila Mohammadi commenced a hunger strike from Saturday, August 5, until Tuesday, August 8, 2023. Throughout this period, she encountered pressure and threats from the Intelligence Department and officials of Urmia Central Prison, who, in exchange for ensuring her leave, urged her to cease the strike
These circumstances have placed Soheila Mohammadi in a worrisome state, both mentally and physically. Her three-year separation from her child, coupled with the pressures imposed by government institutions during her periods of interrogation and detention, have taken a toll on her well-being, according to reliable sources.
Despite serving three years of her five-year prison sentence, Mohammadi continues to be denied her rightful opportunity for temporary leave.
Soheila Mohammadi, a mother of one child, tragically resorted to self-harm in March 2022 by stabbing herself in the chest due to the pressure imposed by government security institutions and their persistent obstruction of her temporary leave and amnesty. Her fellow inmates in the prison intervened and rescued her
In 2019, she was apprehended in Salmas city by IRGC Intelligence forces, and after enduring several months of interrogation, she was transferred to the female ward of Urmia Central Prison.
Subsequently, Soheila Mohammadi was sentenced to five years in prison by the 1st branch of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia on charges of being a member of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK). Since then, she has been detained in the female ward of Urmia Central Prison, without the opportunity for temporary leave or conditional release.
