Iranian authorities have arrested an Afghan student conducting field research near the country’s eastern border and have held her without contact with her family or legal counsel for more than a week, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.
Sara Gowhari, a 29-year-old Afghan national and sociology student at the University of Tehran, was reportedly detained by agents of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence on July 6 while visiting the Taybad border area near Afghanistan. She had publicly stated on social media that she planned to carry out independent research on the conditions of Afghan migrants in the region.
Hengaw, a Norway-based rights organization that monitors abuses in Iran, said Gowhari was taken into custody without a judicial warrant and has since been transferred to an undisclosed location. No formal charges have been announced.
Ten days after her arrest, Gowhari remains cut off from her family and legal representation, the group said. Her family’s repeated inquiries to Iranian authorities about her whereabouts and well-being have gone unanswered.
“There is no information available regarding the reasons for her detention, the charges she may be facing, or even where she is being held,” Hengaw said in its statement.
Human rights observers have expressed concern over what they describe as a pattern of arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, particularly targeting ethnic minorities and foreign nationals, including Afghan residents of Iran.
Gowhari’s case has raised alarm among academic and migrant advocacy circles, especially as tensions continue to rise over Iran’s treatment of Afghan nationals, many of whom face deportation, detention, or limited access to education and legal status.
