For months, Iran's intelligence services, helped by the judiciary, have been waging a campaign of harassment and repression against women's rights activists. Just a few weeks before the second anniversary of the biggest protest in Iran's history, which began in September 2022 following the death in custody of Mahsa (Jina) Amini, arrested for wearing a headscarf incorrectly, 12 feminists – 11 women and one man – in the northern province of Guilan alone have been sentenced to a combined total of over 60 years in prison.

At the beginning of July, in another case, Sharifeh Mohammadi, a 44-year-old workers' rights activist and resident of Guilan province, was sentenced to death for "armed rebellion against Islamic rule." She has appealed against the judges' decision, a ruling which is extremely rare for a woman, unless she belongs to an ethnic minority (Kurdish or Baluchi).

The 12 feminists were arrested in August 2023, in various towns in Guilan province. Located near the Caspian Sea, this region of Iran has been the scene of major demonstrations. According to Le Monde's information, the group in question was very active in helping the families of those killed or arrested by the regime during the 2022 protests. According to the defendants, it was mainly a solidarity group on the Telegram messaging service. The members of the group were released on bail a few weeks after their arrest, pending their trials.

In March, Zohreh Dadras was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison for "founding a group with the aim of undermining national security" and for "assembly and collusion," charges widely used against opponents and civil society activists in Iran. Then eight other members, Forough Saminia, Sara Jahani, Yasmin Hashdari, Shiva Shahsiah, Negin Rezayi, Matin Yazdani, Azadeh Chavoshian and Zahra Dadras, were sentenced to six years and three months in prison for "assembly and collusion" and "belonging to a [dissident] group."

Jelveh Javaheri and Houman Taheri, the only male member of the group, were sentenced to one year in prison for "propaganda" against the Islamic Republic of Iran. In June, the appeal court upheld all the sentences and all were incarcerated in various prisons in Guilan province.

Before going to prison, some feminists from the Guilan group had recounted the torture, psychological pressure and sometimes sexual violence to which all members of the group claim to have been subjected during their pre-trial detention, with the goal of extorting confessions that would confirm the charges.

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