Young Kurdish woman twice kidnapped and tortured by Iranian forces

Sonia Sharifi, known for her iconic image of raising her hands in the air during anti-regime protests in Iran, has revealed that she has twice been kidnapped and tortured by Iranian law enforcement. Hengaw, a human rights organization that monitors abuses in Iran, reported that the 17-year-old suffered a number of injuries.

Sonia Sharifi, a Kurdish student from Abdanan, was arrested by Iranian government forces on 19 November 2022. She was provisionally released on bail from Ilam Central Prison on 15 December 2022 after almost a month in detention. According to the report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the Kurdish student was tortured and abused by Iranian government forces following her second abduction on 9 August 2023. Sharifi posted a picture of her injured forehead on her Instagram page.

Sharifi was abducted and tortured about a month before the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, the Kurdish woman whose death in custody sparked a massive protest movement. She was left alone in the street after more than two hours of threats, interrogation and torture. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have previously denied reports that Sonia Sharifi was abducted in December and have yet to respond to the second abduction.

As documented by the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), more than 500 protesters were killed and thousands arrested in a wave of repression following the protests. Some protesters have been executed by the Iranian regime. Despite state pressure, many Iranian women continue to refuse to cover their heads in public. Iranians are constantly using social media to make their country’s protests known to the international community. The hashtag ‘Mahsa’s anniversary’ has been shared nearly 450.000 times in the last eight weeks on X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, TikTok and Twitch.