Zhila Sadeghi (Movaghen), a Baha'i citizen living in Isfahan, was arrested on Tuesday, 6 October 2026. According to IranWire, security agents entered the Movaghen family's home in Isfahan, arrested her and sent her to solitary confinement in Isfahan's Dolatabad prison. The agents also seized the family's car.
Zhila Movaghen's arrest comes while her daughter, Sarir Movaghen, has been held in the same prison for six weeks. At the time of publication, nothing had been released about the reason for the mother's arrest or any possible charges against her.
Sarir Movaghen's arrest and detention in solitary confinement
According to HRANA, agents of the Isfahan Intelligence Office searched the Movaghen family's home on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, arrested Sarir Movaghen and took her to Dolatabad prison. During the search, the agents confiscated a number of the family's personal and electronic belongings.
In the last days of August, HRANA reported that after 29 days Sarir Movaghen was still being held in solitary confinement and in limbo, denied telephone calls and allowed only one short visit with her family. Her charges had not been announced by then either.
Within six weeks, the Islamic Republic has sent a Baha'i mother and daughter to solitary confinement in Dolatabad prison without announcing any charges.
The repression of Baha'is and religious minorities
Baha'is are the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran and since 1979 have faced arrest, confiscation of property, exclusion from university education and dismissal from work. In recent years Isfahan has been one of the main centres of arrests of Baha'i citizens, and a number of Baha'i women have been transferred to Dolatabad prison to serve their sentences.
The arrests of Zhila and Sarir Movaghen coincide with a new wave of pressure on religious minorities, including the summoning of Lida Alexani, a Christian citizen, to serve an eight-year prison sentence. Isfahan's Dolatabad prison had previously made the news over the pressure on Mahshad Keshani, a 22-year-old political prisoner.
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