M. Gholizadeh transferred to Tabriz prison to serve 10-month term

Committee of Human Rights Reporters – Masoumeh Gholizadeh, a PhD student in philosophy at Ankara University presented herself per court orders and was subsequently transferred to Tabriz prison to serve a ten-month sentence.

According to CHRR, Masoumeh Gholizadeh, a former student activist at Allameh Tabataba’i University in Tehran was arrested without explanation by security agents on her return to the country from Turkey on May 21, 2014. She was held behind bars without formal charges until June 19th when she was released on bail. Branch 2 of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court later sentenced the PhD student who intended to be in the country for a visit – to ten months in prison on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.”

When she was detained in May 2014 Masoumeh Gholizadeh spent 18 days under harsh interrogations in solitary confinement before being transferred to the women’s ward of Tabriz prison. In a letter 381 activists voiced their concern for her well being due to her severe health issues. Gholizadeh finally made her first brief contact by phone with her family after nine days of being held incommunicado. It was reported that she was deprived of her needed medication despite suffering from asthma, thyroid complications, along with heart and liver problems. The PhD student was not allowed to leave the country after her release on bail and is now behind bars in Tabriz prison serving her sentence.