Soha Mortezaie
Soha Mortezaie is a student union activist and former secretary of the student union of the University of Tehran. As a result of her work with student unions, Soha Mortezaie has been denied access to education.
The woman human rights defender was arrested for participating in the protests in Iran in December 2017 and January 2018 calling for regime change, along with a number of other students and HRDs.
In September 2018, she was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment and banned from joining any political or social parties, groups or engaging in media activities for two years on charges of “acting against national security by gathering and planning” by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court.
Hope for political reform in Iran surfaced when President Hassan Rouhani assumed office in 2013 and dozens of opposition political figures and human rights defenders were released. However, violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly and movement of HRDs continue to be prevalent.
