Under strict measures.. Iranian authorities continue to detain 'university girl'

"Iran International" obtained information that Aho Deriei,  young university student who protested Iran's strict dress code known as the "university girl," is still being held in a separate room inside a psychiatric center, under strict measures, and medical staff and doctors at that center are not allowed access.

This information shows that the Aho Deriei file is run by the IRGC Intelligence Organization in Tehran, while her family and staff are under tight surveillance by the Iranian authorities.

Earlier this month, the Iranian authorities dealt with the incident of the young Iranian woman who protested Iran's strict dress code in a repressive manner, by arresting her as a "troubled person in need of treatment" and transferring her to a psychiatric facility, among a series of cases that indicate that the authorities resorted to describing opponents of the hijab as "mentally ill", especially since the start of the "Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (Woman, Life, Freedom) uprising in 2022.

The Iranian authorities' use of mental health institutions as a means of punishing dissidents has become a matter of concern and rejection by human rights defenders, who consider it an abusive and coercive use of mental health.

In 2023, 4 Iranian psychiatric associations issued a joint statement condemning the use of unscientific diagnoses, such as "anti-family personality disorder," as a pretext to punish opponents of forced hijab.

The statement stressed that these practices represent a violation of professional ethics, referring to the principles of the Code of Professional Ethics in Iranian psychology, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of religious, ethnic or gender identity (sexual discrimination).

Sh-S

ANHA