Zeinab Jalalian case
Zeinab Jalalian is a Kurdish women’s rights activist who was sentenced to death for “enmity against God” (moharebeh) by an Iranian court in 2008 in an unfair trial that lasted a few minutes. Her death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 2011and she is currently serving a life sentence in Yazd Central Prison in Iran.
ZEINAB’S STORY
Since 2000, Zeinab had been assisting women in Iraqi and Iranian Kurdistan by providing them education and social services. One of her last activities prior to her arrest on International Women’s Day in 2008, was a visit to a girls’ high school in Kamiaran, in Iranian Kurdistan, where she talked about the importance of International Women’s Day and distributed flowers to the students.
In 2008, Zeinab was sentenced to death for “enmity against God” (moharebeh) by Kermanshah Revolutionary Court for her alleged membership in the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), an armed Kurdish opposition group. She was not granted access to a lawyer during her summary trial and was sentenced to death despite the lack of evidence about her participation in the armed activities of the PJAK. Her death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 2011.
Before her trial, Zeinab spent eight months in pre-trial detention in a Ministry of Intelligence detention centre, where she says she was subjected to torture and ill-treatment to force her to confess to false charges. This included long interrogations, beatings while being blindfolded, flogging under her feet, threats of rape and solitary confinement.
The evidence also reveals she was tortured during a period of detention in Evin Prison in 2010.
Zeinab has received inadequate treatment for a series of ailments that her family believe originally resulted from the beating she has endured, and which have been exacerbated by the conditions in prison and her lack of access to adequate medical care. Zeinab is believed to suffer from kidney and gastrointestinal issues, pterygium, foot-and-mouth disease, impaired vision, and dental infections. Furthermore, since June 2024, she has reportedly been experiencing excruciating pain in her abdomen and is suffering from at least ten uterine myomas, causing her severe bleeding. One of the few doctors she has been allowed to see reportedly alerted that she could have cancer in her uterus and might need surgery, but she has not been able to undergo any further medical examination to produce an accurate diagnosis.
ACTION FOR JUSTICE
On 5 March 2015, REDRESS and Justice for Iran filed a complaint with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) urging this body to intervene on behalf of Zeinab.
Our complaint called on the Iranian Government to grant Zeinab a re-trial that complies with international standards for fair trial, including disregarding any evidence obtained under torture or other ill-treatment. We also requested that she is protected from further torture and ill-treatment and given access to all the necessary medical treatment, including urgent care for a degenerative eye condition that was causing her to lose her sight.
Our submission stated that Zeinab was targeted for her social activism and work promoting women’s rights in Iraqi and Iranian Kurdistan.
A copy of our submission was submitted to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
THE OUTCOMES
On 18 April 2016, the WGAD issued a strong opinion on the case. It determined that Zeinab’s detention was arbitrary and urged Iran to release her immediately and offer her compensation.
The WGAD also expressed “grave concern” that her mental and physical integrity may be at risk of “irreparable harm”, requesting the Government of Iran to “take the necessary steps to remedy the situation of Ms. Jalalian without delay.”
On 7 March 2017, Justice for Iran and REDRESS provided the WGAD with an update on Zeinab’s situation and renewed their calls for this continuing gross violation of her rights to end.
The organisations told the WGAD that Zeinab continued to be denied access to vital medical treatment and had been subjected to further pressure to provide a recorded interview.
The Islamic Republic of Iran must put an end to defy the implementation of the opinion of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and respect her rights affirmed by the international experts, said Shadi Sadr, Executive Director of Justice in Iran, in March 2017.
Since then, the WGAD and numerous UN Special Rapporteurs have sent communications to the Iranian Government calling for action (including in May 2021). Following an urgent appeal submitted by REDRESS, Justice for Iran, and Kurdistan Human Rights Network, highlighting Zeinab’s deteriorating health condition and urgent need for life-saving medical care, nine UN Special Procedures issued a letter to the Iranian Government in May 2025, calling on the authorities to ensure she has access to the medical care she needs and put an end to her arbitrary detention.
Despite such repeated calls from UN experts and civil society, the Islamic Republic of Iran has still failed to respond. Zeinab’s health and general well-being continues to deteriorate as she languishes in detention and virtual isolation.
QUICK FACTS
- Case Name: Zeinab Jalalian
- Court/Body: UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD)
- Date Filed: 5 March 2015
- Current Status: WGAD’s opinion issued on 18 April 2016; WGAD and UN Special Rapporteurs sent letters to the Iranian Government in May 2021 and May 2025
- Legal representation: REDRESS and Justice for Iran (complaint before WGAD); and REDRESS, Justice for Iran and Kurdistan Human Rights Network (urgent appeal before UN Special Procedures in 2025).
