Iranian authorities on Monday re-arrested the journalist who had interviewed the father of Mahsha Amini – whose death at the hands of morality police in September 2022 sparked a wave of blood-soaked protests in the Islamic Republic – a day after she was released , a US-based human rights non-governmental organization announced yesterday.

Nazila Maroufian was released from Tehran’s Evin prison on Sunday. She uploaded a photo of herself, without a headscarf, defying the country’s strict dress code for women, on social media sites, in which she is pictured with a bouquet of flowers in her left hand and her right hand raised, two fingers forming a victory sign.

“Don’t tolerate slavery,” was her exhortation via X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram under the photo.

The journalist was re-detained and transferred to the notorious Kartsak Women’s Prison, where conditions of detention are often complained about, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

The organization added that the new arrest was confirmed by a “reliable” source close to her family, with whom it contacted.

The journalist, 23, according to Persian media, published in October on the Mostaghel Online news site an interview she conducted with Amzad Amini, the father of Mahsha Amini.

Mr. Amini accused the authorities in this interview of lying about the circumstances of his daughter’s death; the authorities had announced at the time that she had died due to a health problem. The family and activists, on the contrary, emphasized that she suffered a blow to the head during her detention.

Nazila Maroufian, based in Tehran but originally from Shakez, the town where Mahsa Amini was born, in Kurdistan province, was initially arrested in late October.

She was released, but announced in January that she had been sentenced to serve two years in prison with five years suspended for “propaganda against the system” and “spreading false news”.

According to human rights organizations, the young woman was taken back to Evin prison in early July. Her relatives reported that she had recently been hospitalized and expressed concern for her health. Via social networking sites, Nazila Maroufian reported that she had heart problems but was “fine”.

Although no explanation was given for her new arrest, Ms. Maroufian’s case is reminiscent of that of Iranian activist and journalist Sepideh Golyan, who was arrested in March, hours after she was released from prison with her head uncovered and chanting anti-government slogans. of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

Two other journalists who contributed to the coverage of the Amini case have been jailed in Evin after being arrested in September. They are currently on trial for allegedly endangering “national security”, a charge they deny.