According to Hana’s colleagues, on Monday, February 12, 2024, Sa’da Khodirzadeh was granted temporary leave for the first time for 20 days after posting a heavy bail of 2.5 billion tomans.
Sa’da Khodirzadeh, a political prisoner from Piranshahr, had been sentenced to 12 years and 6 months in prison by Branch Three of the Criminal Court One in Mahabad. She was convicted on charges of “complicity in the murder” of Khodr Piroti, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), “aiding the escape of an accused individual,” and “acting against national security through membership in a Kurdish opposition party.”
Her trial was held online on Wednesday, August 24, 2022, and the verdict was delivered to her family on Tuesday, September 6, 2022.
On Wednesday, June 22, 2022, following a cesarean section and the birth of her child, she was returned to the women’s ward of Orumiyeh prison without completing her medical treatment. During her hospitalization, prison officers shackled her hands and feet to the bed, prompting protests from the hospital’s medical staff.
In April of this year, Khodirzadeh went on an 11-day hunger strike in protest of her continued legal limbo in Orumiyeh prison. She ended her strike after prison officials promised temporary release on bail, but the Mahabad court repeatedly refused to grant her release without explanation.
During her pregnancy, Khodirzadeh suffered from kidney disease, heart issues, and a herniated disc, yet she was denied access to specialized medical care.
She was arrested by security forces on Thursday, October 14, 2021, in Piranshahr and transferred to a security detention center in Orumiyeh for interrogation. After 12 days of questioning, she was moved to Orumiyeh prison, where she has remained in the women’s ward.
Amnesty International previously issued a statement declaring that “Sa’da Khodirzadeh has never been allowed access to a lawyer since her arrest.” The organization condemned her detention as a violation of fair trial standards and deemed it arbitrary under international law, as she was held in prolonged pretrial detention without being informed of the charges against her and was denied legal representation.