Mahabad- Nahed Hajtmand, a 40-year-old mother of four, was arrested without a warrant by the Intelligence Department in Mahabad on April 29, 2023. For about three weeks, no one knew her location. According to the reports received from her family, she has been held in Urmia Prison on charges of “setting fire to the house of one of the Basij members” in November last year and “slandering the Islamic Republic of Iran". 

 During the visit with her family in Urmia prison, Nahed Hajtmand talked about the difficult conditions in the prison and said that she had been referred to a psychiatrist even though she does not suffer from any mental illness. Nahed Hajtmand has been able to see her husband and children only once since she has been arrested. “She suffers from a physical illness. Although she needs special treatment under the supervision of a doctor, she has been denied access to her medicines,” one of her relatives said.

Their house was raided twice

This is not the first time that Nahid Hajtamand and her family have been harassed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the intelligence services. At the beginning of the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” uprising, their home was raided twice on charges of “illegal weapons possession”. Their house was searched and their electronic devices were confiscated. Her relative told us, “But they found nothing to accuse them and Nahid Hajtamand denied all charges against them.”

 According to local sources, the Basij member known as “Hussein Busheh” lost his house and his expensive car during the Jina Mahsa Amini uprising and now plans to take money from Nahid Hajtamand for his damaged car.

 The local sources also say that the family of Nahid Hajtamand is ready to pay a bail for the release of Nahid Hajtamand. Her family demands the immediate release of Nahid Hajtamand and all political prisoners.