PEN America Advocacy
July 3, 2025: PEN America highlights Iraee’s case in a statement expressing concern for political prisoners in Iran in the wake of the country’s crackdown on writers after its war with Israel.
September 18, 2023: PEN America highlights Iraee’s case in a statement following a Congressional resolution in the United States in support of women’s rights in Iran.
May 2, 2023: PEN America issues a statement urging the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran to investigate new evidence of repression in the country, highlighting Iraee’s case as an example.
November 11, 2022: PEN America issues a press release expressing concern over Iran’s recent crackdown and its mass arrests of artists and writers, including Iraee.
October 6, 2022: PEN America publishes a statement expressing concern over the arbitrary arrests of writers and artists in Iran in the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, including Iraee.
July 21, 2021: Along with other rights groups, PEN America writes a Joint Communication to the UN Commission on the Status of Women that highlights Iraee’s case.
June 17, 2021: As Iran holds an election, PEN America calls on the Biden administration to prioritize human rights and free expression in the country and to urge the Iranian government to release political prisoners such as Iraee.
May 10, 2021: PEN America and other rights groups write a joint letter to the Biden administration urging it to prioritize human rights in its foreign policy towards Iran. The letter highlights the cases of political prisoners including Iraee.
October 22, 2020: PEN America and PEN International submit a statement to the 65th UN Commission on the Status of Women drawing attention to the status of female activists in Iran including Golrokh Iraee.
Case Background
Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee is a writer and human rights defender who has been targeted by the Iranian government since 2014 due to her expression and activism. She has long stood against the practice of stoning in Iran and has been a staunch supporter of women’s rights and a range of other human rights issues, including condemning the use of the death penalty and advocating for improved prison conditions.
Iraee was first arrested in 2014 during a raid on her home that targeted her and other family members. In 2015, after being tried in absentia due to illness, she was sentenced to six years in prison for blasphemy and “spreading propaganda.” The charges were related to an unpublished story depicting a protagonist’s opposition to death by stoning for adultery, a form of capital punishment in Iran, as well as her Facebook posts about former political prisoners. She was imprisoned in October 2016.
In April 2019, Iraee was briefly released after having served three-and-a-half years of her six-year sentence, but was re-arrested in November 2019 and sent again to Qarchak prison. In April 2021, she was sentenced in absentia to an additional year in prison, a two-year travel ban, and a two-year ban on participation in political groups for simply singing a song dedicated to unjustly executed activists. After another brief reprieve from prison in 2022, she was rearrested at the start of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, and was handed down another sentence in 2023.
Iraee has continued her activism from within prison, prolifically writing open letters in support of issues such as women’s rights and improved prison conditions, and against war and executions by the Iranian government. She also continues to write both poetry and short stories from behind bars.
Case Updates
July 3, 2025: Iraee writes a letter after being transferred temporarily to Qarchak Prison in the aftermath of Israel’s strike on Evin Prison.
March 8, 2024: Along with a group of fellow political prisoners, she signs on to a letter condemning gender apartheid.
November 9, 2023: Iraee and her fellow inmates end their hunger strike.
November 6, 2023: Iraee and other inmates begin a hunger strike in solidarity with Narges Mohammadi.
July 2, 2023: Iraee’s original sentence is reduced on appeal to five years in prison for “collusion,” “propaganda against the system,” and “disturbing the public order” in the appeals court.
June 18, 2023: Iraee refuses to appear in the appeals court as she says that she does not recognize the judicial system.
May 26, 2023: Iraee is reported to be banned from meeting with Narges Mohammadi since May 6 after the two wrote articles together for a virtual conference.
May 15, 2023: It is reported that Iraee is among a group of political prisoners who have been banned from making phone calls for a month.
April 13, 2023: Iraee is sentenced to seven years in prison for “collusion” and “propaganda.” She is additionally banned from leaving the country or participating in political activities for two years.
January 19, 2023: Narges Mohammadi publishes a post on the conditions of political prisoners and detainees, writing that Iraee was in solitary confinement for 79 days.
November 29, 2022: Iraee is transferred from Qarchak Prison to Evin Prison.
November 19, 2022: Iraee is still in detention with no progress on her case.
September 26, 2022: Iraee is re-arrested at the start of the Woman, Life, Freedom protest movement.
May 9, 2022: Iraee is released from Amol Prison with about three months left in her third case. She is reportedly granted an unconditional release based on Art. 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, according to which “a convict must serve the most severe single sentence, in case of multiple sentencing.”
October 8, 2021: Ahead of International Day Against the Death Penalty, held on October 10, Iran Human Rights Monitor appeals to the international community to pressure the Iranian regime to stop their common use of the death penalty, especially against women, referencing a letter written by Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee.
April 2021: Iraee is handed a new one-year sentence in absentia for engaging in peaceful protests while at Qarchak Prison. She is now subject to a two-year travel ban and is banned from membership in any political group or party. Throughout her sentence, she has been deprived of the right to counsel.
January 25, 2021: Iraee is reportedly moved to Amol prison, in a region that has been heavily struck by the pandemic.
December 23, 2020: Iraee continues to be held incommunicado.
December 13, 2020: Iraee is violently transferred to Ward 2A of Evin prison, which is controlled by the IRGC Intelligence.
November 2, 2020: Assailants are allowed into Qarchak prison and threaten Iraee with death.
September 2020: Iraee writes a letter detailing the conditions in Qarchak prison.
November 9, 2019: Iraee is re-arrested by Iranian security forces at her home in Tehran.
September 5, 2019: The Tehran Appeals Court extends the sentence of Iraee during a revision hearing for two additional years and one month.
Mid-July 2019: Iraee is sentenced along with Atena Daemi to a total of 3 years and 7 months in prison for “insulting the supreme leader” (2 years 1 month) and “propaganda against the state” (1 year and 6 months). In accordance with Article 134 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, which requires defendants to serve the longest sentence of all the charges against them, Iraee must only serve 2 years 1 month.
April 8, 2019: Iraee is released on bail from prison. However, she still faces additional charges against her because of her political activism while in prison.
May 12, 2018: Iraee, as well as human rights defender Atena Daemi, were returned to Evin Prison after having been illegally transferred to Qarchak prison (in the city of Varamin) for three and half months. Both human rights defenders had been on hunger strike in protest at the transfer.
February 2018: Iraee embarks on an 81-day hunger strike (losing 22 kg) in protest of her prison conditions.
March 9, 2018: Iraee is being held in a quarantine section of Shahr-e Rey prison in the town of Varamin.
March 2017: Iraee’s prison sentence is reduced to two years and six months as part of a pardon around the Iranian New Year.
January 2017: Iraee is briefly released from prison before being rearrested.
October 24, 2016: Iraee is arrested and transferred to prison.
July 26, 2015: Iraee is sentenced to five years in prison for blasphemy due to an unpublished short story dealing with the practice of stoning.
September 6, 2014: Iraee is arrested in a violent home raid. She is released on bail after nearly three weeks.