Zohreh Ghadimi, mother of Abolfazl Joghtaei, held 52 days in Mashhad prison

Zohreh Ghadimi, the mother of blogger and environmental activist Abolfazl Joghtaei, has now spent 52 days in prison in Mashhad. Abolfazl Joghtaei announced his mother's continued detention on his Instagram page on Thursday 22 October 2026, saying most of the charges against his family are built on their private conversations.

According to Joghtaei, on the last Thursday of the Iranian year 1404 (March 2026) he and his parents went to Behesht-e Reza cemetery in Mashhad to visit the graves of his grandparents, when plainclothes agents arrested him and his father. His mother got into the agents' car to find out where her husband and son were being taken, and she too was arrested.

The charge: following Prince Reza Pahlavi's call

The Islamic Republic's security agencies accused all three of attending a memorial for the fallen of the Dey 1404 uprising and of following Prince Reza Pahlavi's call. Joghtaei denies the charge, saying the family knew nothing of the call and had received no text message banning visits to the cemetery.

All three were released on bail in the first days of Nowruz 1405 (late March 2026). But in the month of Shahrivar (August–September 2026) Zohreh Ghadimi was summoned again and faced new and heavier charges whose details have not been disclosed. According to her son, the family has never published any criminal content.

Zohreh Ghadimi, born in 1981, holds a bachelor's degree in Persian literature; she used to be a teacher and now works as a secretary at a language school. Joghtaei wrote that his only wish is for his family to return to a normal life.

Pressure on families and mourners of the Dey uprising

The arrest of mourners at graves, and even of people who say they went only to visit their relatives' graves, is part of the Islamic Republic's wider pressure on the memory of the fallen of the Dey uprising. Earlier, families seeking justice reported threats of summons for visiting the graves of the fallen, and the wave of heavy sentences against detainees of the Dey uprising continues.

A mother who got into the agents' car only to find out what would happen to her husband and son has been in Mashhad prison for 52 days.