Baloch Woman Sentenced to One Year in Prison for 2022 Protest Involvement

DOZZAP (ZAHEDAN): A Baloch woman, violently arrested by Iranian security forces during the 2022 protests in Chabahar city in Iranian Occupied Balochistan, has been sentenced to one year in prison.

According to the Baloch Activists Campaign, on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, the woman, identified as 30-year-old Elham Ostadi, daughter of Mohammad from Iranshahr, received her sentence. The Revolutionary Court in the Nouri Judicial Complex, Zahedan, convicted her of “propaganda against the regime.”

Ms. Ostadi was arrested on August 22, 2023, in Chabahar for supporting Maho Baloch, a 15-year-old girl who had been called in for interrogation and sexually assaulted by Colonel Ebrahim Kuchakzai, the police commander of Chabahar. Ms. Ostadi expressed her support for Maho Baloch through her Instagram page.

Two days after her arrest, she was transferred to Zahedan Central Prison, where she was held in solitary confinement for 10 days. After 12 days in detention, she was temporarily released on September 2, 2023, on a bail of 200 million tomans.

It’s worth noting that Ms. Ostadi, who privately teaches English, had previously been fined in a separate case for “disturbing public opinion.”