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Draft:Elham Modaressi

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Elham Modaressi


Elham Modaressi (Persian: الهام مدرسی: born December 28, 1990) is an Iranian artist, and peaceful protester, who was arrested in 2022[1] for participating in the Woman Life Freedom movement in Iran, that arose from discontent after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini who had been detained by the Islamic regime's Morality Police in Tehran, Iran. Elham attended peaceful demonstrations and when government forces began to wound, and kill people;[2] she began to voice her discontent on social media.[3] The repression was so great that the United Nations Human Rights Council formed a fact finding mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran.[4] Elham is one of the detainees of the Mahsa Amini protests.

She was brutally arrested for participating in protests.[5] She was imprisoned at Kachooie Prison[6] in Karaj. She was physically and mentally tortured in prison as a result her health declined severely.[7][8][9][10] To protest the abysmal conditions of the prison, she went on a hunger strike[11][12][13][14] with 14 other women. She was denied medical treatment until her condition became dire.[15][16] She was released in 2023 on bail.[17][18]

Early Life

[edit]

Elham was born on December 28, 1990, in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, Iran. She is the youngest of 7 children. Her first run in with the morality police was when she was 12 years old.[19] This was a year after her father died.[20] At the time of her arrest, she was living in Fardis with her mother and her brother. She was in good health. She was taking care of her mother and her brother. Her sisters were living abroad.[21][22]

Arrest

[edit]

Elham had been a peaceful protester in the demonstrations that began after the death of Mahsa Amini. On the night of November 2, 2022, agents of the Islamic regime violently entered into the home she shared with her mother and brother.[23] Twelve agents from the Islamic regime with guns attacked the family.[24][25] They blindfolded Elham and abducted her. They also took the family's phones and computer. She was taken to the intelligence detention center but because there was no room, she was transferred to Kachooie Prison. Her family was not told where she was. After a few days, her family found out where she was when another prisoner informed her family.[26]

Charges

[edit]

Elham was given several charges including "moharebeh" which is waging war against god.[27][28]This charge carries the death sentence.[29] The interrogators tried to force her into a false confession. They wanted her to say that she was a member of the Komala party and that she had weapons. She did not. She was only a peaceful protester. She was not given a lawyer.[30][31][32]

Torture

[edit]

Elham was tortured severely in prison.[33] She was taken from the prison to the intelligence detentions center daily for interrogation. There she was physically and mentally tortured.[34][35][36]Another way they tortured her was by denying her medical care.[37][38] Elham was also injected with unknown substances.[39][40][41]

Hunger Strike

[edit]

On January 1, 2023, Elham along with 15 other inmates including Armita Abbasi and Hamideh Zeraei began a hunger strike to protest against the horrible conditions in the prison.[42][43] As the hunger strike went on, Elham's condition deteriorated.[44][45][46][47][48][49][50]

World Recognition

[edit]

During Elham's imprisonment, her sister Nahid led a campaign to speak out about her situation in an effort to pressure the government and gather support to free her.[51][52][53][54] [55][56] Her sister's Nahid, Zhila, and Rose gave interviews with the media and participated in demonstrations to get politicians to take note of Elham's plight.[57] [58] Her sister started a petition on Change.org to free her. Many activists began to campaign for her release. Some celebrities began to advocate for Elham and others who were in similar situations.[59] Several politicians who were members of their country's parliament became political sponsors for Elham, including: the United Kingdom's Caroline Lucas,[60][61] Germany's Kerstin Vieregge,[62] France's Nathalie Goulet,[63] and Canada's Emanuela Lambropoulos.[64][65] The Mayor of Ronnenberg, Marlo Kratzke also became a political sponsor.[66][67]

Release from Prison

[edit]

On January 22, 2023, Elham was released on bail from prison .[68][69][70][71] After she was released from prison, she found out that she had liver cirrhosis but she was unable to get proper treatment.[72][73][74] She, also, had difficulties getting medication.

Fleeing to Turkey

[edit]

On August 1, 2023, Elham left Iran for Turkey.[75][76][77][78] She decided to leave because she and her family was being constantly harassed by agents of the Islamic regime. Elham gave interviews with media about what she had experienced.[79][80][81] She published her own statement about her experiences on her social media.[82]

In August 2023, Elham was in acute liver failure and doctors in Turkey told her that she needed a liver transplant as soon as possible.[83][84] Friends realized that because Elham was a refugee in Turkey, she was not eligible for medical insurance and would have to pay all medical costs herself. A gofundme campaign was launched.[1] Thousands of people from all over the world donate to the fund and enough money was raised to pay for her medical bills.[85] Her sister, Nahid, searched for a hospital in Turkey that would do a live donor liver transplant.[86][87][88] Several people volunteered to be a live liver donor for Elham, but the law in Turkey for live liver donation was very strict. Some of the donors were not approved by the ethics committee.[89][2]

Elham was in agonizing pain. She became very weak. Her sister and friends who witnessed it posted about it in social media.[90] She required frequent hospitalizations and home treatments by a nurse.[3] The situation was exacerbated because the process to find a suitable donor who would be approved took several months.

Finally, in February 2024, a donor was approved by a Turkish medical ethics committee and Elham was informed that the transplant could take place soon. Elham received a live donor liver transplant on February 22, 2024 in a hospital in Turkey. It was successful and she recuperated there under care of her surgeons. The donor wished to remain anonymous.

Canada

[edit]

During the time it took for a suitable donor to be found and approved, activists in Canada ran campaigned to get Elham treatment in Canada.[91][92] However, because of the severity of her disease, she became too ill to travel and had to have the operation in Turkey. The Iranian Justice Collective was instrumental in helping to get Elham a visa to Canada.[93][94] Elham arrived with her mother in Canada on May 8, 2024.[95][96][97][98][99]

References

[edit]
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  9. ^ "Elham Modarresi detained 50 days under torture to confess". NCRI Women Committe. December 21, 2022.
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