Additional Name(s): ناهید بهشید
Gender: Female
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Erfan-e Halgheh Practitioner
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Sentence: Reduced to 2 Years, 6 Months' Imprisonment (Originally 5 Years' Imprisonment)
Date of Detainment: January/28/2019
Date of Release: March//2020
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Adherence to a Religious Figure Religious Expression
Nature of Charges: Illegal Assembly
Nahid Behshid was imprisoned for her religious expression and public support for a religious figure.
On January 28, 2019, authorities took Behshid into custody after a judge sentenced her to five years in prison for "assembling and colluding to act against national security" (Art. 610 IPC). She had initially been arrested and subsequently granted bail after demonstrating in support of Erfan-e Halgheh leader Mohammad Ali Taheri.
On July 9, 2019, it was reported that Behshid's sentence was reduced to two years and six months in prison following a pardon.
In March 2020, Behshid was released in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.