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Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was forcibly disappeared because of his religious leadership role.

On May 17, 1995, authorities abducted then six-year old Gedhun and his family.  The abduction came after the Dalai Lama chose Gedhun to be the 11th Panchen Lama, the second highest position in Tibetan Buddhism, on May 14, 1995.

On November 29, 1995, authorities announced their own pick to serve as the Panchen Lama: Gyancain Norbu.

On July 17, 2007, authorities said that Gedhun is a “perfectly ordinary Tibetan boy,” attending school and leading a normal life, and that he “does not wish to be disturbed.” Authorities said that the state employs both of his parents and that his brothers and sisters are either working or at university.

In May 2020, authorities said that Gedhun “received free compulsory education when he was a child, passed the college entrance examination and now has a job.”

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) advocates for Gedhun as part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project.

Related Cases: Dechen Choedron, Konchog Phuntsog

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Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee is imprisoned for her activism and criticism of state-endorsed religious interpretations. 

On September 26, 2022, authorities arrested Iraee from her home in Tehran under unclear circumstances. Her arrest came amid a crackdown on protestors, civil society, and former political prisoners following nationwide protests against the death of Mahsa Amini and mandatory religious veiling.

In November 2022, it was reported that Iraee was being held in poor conditions in the quarantine ward of Qarchak Prison. She was charged with “assembly and collusion” and “propaganda against the regime.”

Later in November 2022, it was reported that Iraee was transferred from Qarchak Prison to Evin Prison.

In April 2023, it was reported that Iraee refused an offer by authorities to be released from prison in exchange for signing a request for a pardon, in which she would be forced to plead guilty for her peaceful actions. 

In April 2023, it was reported that Iraee had been sentenced to six years in prison for "assembly and collusion against the regime" and one year in prison for "propaganda against the regime." If her sentence is upheld on appeal, Iraee would serve six years in prison as her sentences run concurrently. The court also imposed a two-year travel ban and a two-year ban on joining political parties or groups. 

On June 18, 2023, Iraee refused to appear before her appeals hearing in protest of the proceedings.

In July 2023, it was reported that Branch 36 of the Court of Appeal of Tehran Province sentenced Iraee to five years in prison.

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Iraee was previously arrested for her criticism of state-endorsed religious interpretations. 

On September 6, 2014, plainclothes officers believed to be Revolutionary Guard agents arrested Iraee, her husband Arash Sadeghi, and two others from Sadeghi's workplace. Authorities took them to Iraee and Sadeghi's home, searched the premises without a warrant, and confiscated their possessions, including notebooks, laptops, and CDs. While detained, Iraee was frequently blindfolded and forced to listen to interrogators threaten and abuse her husband in the adjacent cell. She was also unable to see her family or a lawyer and was subjected to long periods of interrogation. Officers interrogated Iraee about her social media activity and a fictional, unpublished story she had handwritten in her notebook about a woman who burns a Qur’an after watching a Persian film depicting the real-life stoning of a woman for adultery. After 20 days, Iraee was released on bail.

Iraee and Sadeghi's trial began in May 2015 and was filled with due process violations. Their first lawyer was pressured to drop their case, and the government prohibited their second lawyer from accessing their case file and representing them at trial. A judge rejected Iraee's request to adjourn her second hearing scheduled in July 2015 since she was scheduled to undergo surgery the same day.

On July 26, 2015, Iraee was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison for blasphemy, formally called “insulting Islamic sanctities,” (Art. 513 IPC) in relation to her unpublished story, and one year in prison for "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC) in relation to her social media activity. 

On October 24, 2016, agents from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps arrested Iraee from her home and brought her to Evin Prison to begin serving her sentence.

In January 2017, Iraee was released from prison while a further appeal was pending. Later that same month, she was arrested again and brought back to Evin Prison.

In March 2017, Iraee's sentence was reportedly reduced to two years and six months in prison as part of an Iranian New Year (Nowruz) pardon.

In April 2019, Iraee was released from prison after posting bail.

While Iraee was out on bail, new charges were brought against her in June 2019 for her alleged involvement in prison protests against the execution of Kurdish activists.

In July 2019, Iraee was sentenced to two years and one month in prison for “insulting the Supreme Leader” (Art. 514 IPC) and one year and six months in prison for "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC). Since the sentences run concurrently, she was effectively sentenced to two years and one month in prison.

In September 2019, an appeals court affirmed Iraee's sentence.

On November 9, 2019, security forces arrested Iraee again from her home in Tehran.

In December 2020, guards entered Iraee's cell in Qarchak Prison using stun guns and dragged Iraee out by her hair. She was then transferred to Ward 2A of Evin Prison, which is run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence unit.

On January 24, 2021, she was moved back to Qarchak prison and transferred hours later to Amol Prison. She remains unable to make phone calls or contact her family and has also been denied visitation with her husband, who is undergoing cancer treatment. 

In April 2021, Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Iraee in absentia to another year in prison for "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC). The court also imposed two-year travel ban and banned her from participating in political groups for two years.

During her original imprisonment, Iraee experienced harsh, inhumane living conditions. In July 2017, Iraee and another prisoner issued an open letter documenting unsanitary conditions, lack of clean water, and an absence of medical care for political prisoners. In January 2018, guards assaulted Iraee, and then transferred her to another prison known for denying prisoners sufficient food and potable water. She was also housed in a ward that included criminals convicted of violent crimes. In February 2018, Iraee went on hunger strike in protest of her new prison conditions. During this time, Iraee's health deteriorated. In March 2018, guards transferred several violent offenders into the unit Iraee lived in. The prisoners then verbally abused and physically assaulted Golrokh. Instead of stopping the violence, prison guards also assaulted Iraee. In April 2018, Iraee was transferred to a hospital in a critical condition after experiencing severe nausea, vomiting, and gallbladder issues. After 81 days, Iraee ended her hunger strike.  Weeks later, she was transferred back to Evin Prison.

On May 9, 2022, Iraee was released from prison after her sentences were consolidated. 

Extra Bio Info:

Gulmira Imin is imprisoned for her ethnoreligious identity and protesting against Uyghur treatment.

On July 14, 2009, Imin, web administrator for the Uighur-language website Salkin, was arrested in Aksu, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) after authorities alleged she had organized protests on July 5, 2009, against Uyghur migrant worker deaths in Guangdong province. They also accused her of posting an announcement for the protests on Salkin and leaking state secrets by phone to her husband in Norway. Imin's family was not notified of her arrest and was unaware of her location until she appeared in a state media documentary wearing prison garb in October 2009.

On April 1, 2010, the Urumqi Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Imin to life in prison for "splitting the state" (Art. 103 CCL), "leaking state secrets" (Art. 111 CCL), and "organizing an illegal demonstration (Art. 296 CCL). Imin reportedly said at trial that authorities tortured her in detention and coerced her into signing a document she had not read. She was also reportedly not allowed to meet with her lawyer until the trial.

According to reports in June 2021, authorities in XUAR reduced her life sentence to 19 years and eight months after she signed a written statement of remorse in 2017, which is believed to have been coerced.

Imin is serving her sentence in Xinjiang Women’s Prison (Xinjiang No. 2 Prison), Urumqi.

Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) advocates for Imin as part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project.