Additional Name(s): Sepideh Rashno, سپیده رشنو

Gender: Female

Perpetrator: Iran

Religion or Belief: Unspecified

Health Concerns: Internal bleeding

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Date of Detainment: July/16/2022

Date of Sentencing: December//2023

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment

Reason for Persecution: Online Activity

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

Sepideh Rashnu

Extra Bio Info:

Sepideh Rashnu was detained for resisting state-imposed religious dress.

On July 16, 2022, authorities arrested Rashnu following an altercation on a bus between a woman, who was enforcing the state's policy of mandatory religious head coverings in public, and Rashnu, who was believed to have not been wearing a head covering "properly." Rashnu was reportedly assaulted during the altercation.

Later in July 2022, Rashnu was reportedly forced to confess on state TV. Rashnu was charged with “assembly and collusion against national security through contacts with individuals abroad,” “propaganda against the Islamic Republic” and “encouraging (moral) corruption and prostitution.”

Rashnu's health reportedly deteriorated during her detention. Rashnu was reportedly taken to a hospital for internal bleeding, shortly before her televised confession.  Rashnu was also reportedly subjected to solitary confinement. 

On August 30, 2022, Rashnu was released on bail.

In December 2022, it was reported that Rashnu was given five years of suspended imprisonment for "‘assembly and collusion against national security,’ ‘propaganda against the regime,’ and ‘not wearing hijab in public.’"

In May 2023, Rashnu was arraigned on charges of "provoking promiscuity and engaging in propaganda against the regime" after sharing photos of herself without a headscarf online. Her arraignment occurred at Evin courthouse. Following her arraignment, Rashnu was held briefly in Ward 209 of Evin prison before being released on bail. Rashnu is prohibited from leaving Tehran.

In October 2023, a court reportedly sentenced Rashnu to six months in prison for “propaganda against the regime” and “incitement to immorality and indecency.”

In December 2023, it was reported that a court in Tehran had sentenced Rashnu to four months in prison for "publishing obscene images" on the internet. According to her lawyer, Rashnu now faces three years and 11 months in prison after this most recent sentence was combined with a three-years-and-seven-months suspended prison sentence. The suspended sentence, the lawyer says, was activated after new, additional criminal proceedings were brought against Rashnu.

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