Additional Name(s): Neda Fotoohi

Gender: Female

Current Location: Evin Prison

Perpetrator: Iran

Religion or Belief: Erfan-e Halgheh Practitioner

Reports of Torture: Yes

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: 6 Years and 8 Months’ Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: October//2023

Date of Sentencing: July/13/2024

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Religious Association Resisting State-Imposed Religious Systems Women’s Rights

Nature of Charges: Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials

Neda Fotouhi

Extra Bio Info:

Neda Fotouhi is imprisoned for her membership in a religious organization and activism.

In October 2023, Iranian security forces arrested Fotouhi, an Iranian follower of Erfan-e-Halgheh, at a private residence for participating at protests marking the one-year anniversary of the killing of Mahsa Amini. She was immediately taken to Ward 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran where a case against her was built on forced confessions obtained under torture.

After her arrest, Judge Iman Afshari of Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Fotouhi to 3 years and 8 months of imprisonment for "assembly and collusion against the internal and external security of the country" for participating in protests and 3 years for "propaganda against the government through membership in the Erfan-e-Halgheh group," totaling 6 years and 8 months. 

After multiple requests for a retrial were rejected, on July 13, 2024, Judge Abbasali Houzan of Branch 66 of the Tehran Court of Appeals formally sentenced Fotouhi.

Fotouhi a former lecturer at Allameh Tabataba'i University and a resident of Tehran.

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