After a month and a half in prison, young Iranian activist Bita Shafiei was released on bail on Saturday, with bail set at four billion toman (approximately $760,000). Her mother, Maryam Abbasi-Nikoo, remains in detention. Shafiei, who was 19 at the time of her arrest, reportedly turned 20 in confinement.
Shafiei, a resident of Shahinshahr in central Iran, was arrested on November 13 by Iranian security officials after posting videos deemed anti-regime and expressing support for Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. Her mother, who had previously been detained by the authorities, was arrested shortly afterward.
The arrests came days after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) security officials raided the family’s home while searching for Abbasi-Nikoo, who was not present at the time.
According to reports from activists, the two women were held at Dowlatabad Prison in Isfahan, where interrogators from Iran’s intelligence services subjected them to solitary confinement and torture.
During their detention, reports emerged that authorities were attempting to force both women to sign confessions admitting guilt, a practice long documented by human rights groups as part of the Islamic Republic’s repression since 1979.
According to a source close to the detained mother and daughter, interrogators threatened Abbasi-Nikoo that if she refused to accept dictated statements as forced confessions, they would kill her young son and abandon his body in the desert. The same source said interrogators also threatened to shoot Shafiei in the leg and falsely claim she had attempted to escape.
After their arrest in Shahinshahr, the two were reportedly transferred to security detention centers, where they were pressured to rehearse “confession scenarios” prepared by interrogators.
Outrage among Iranian activists
Shafiei’s detention sparked outrage among activists inside Iran and in the diaspora, who launched the “Free Bita” campaign calling for her release. Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi condemned the arrests, describing them as part of a broader crackdown by Iranian authorities.
“The abduction of Bita Shafiei and arrest of her mother, Maryam, is just the latest example of an increasingly desperate and fractured regime,” Pahlavi said in a statement. “As Bita herself said, ‘I am a young woman who wants to live, not simply exist… My dream is to see Iran free one day.’ Bita has asked us to be her voice. We will not let her down.”
Shafiei’s case has drawn attention as emblematic of the risks faced by young women across Iran who seek to express dissent or support for opposition figures. This was not the first time she had been detained by Iranian authorities. In August 2023, she was arrested during protests against chemical attacks on schools.
In a video circulated on social media at the time, Shafiei warned that the government thrives on instilling fear and said that without public support, the regime would not hesitate to use violence and extreme punishments against protesters.
Shafiei has also previously said she endured torture during detention, including the fracturing of her fingers during her trial.
Her mother remains in custody.