Christian convert and human rights activist Fatemeh Mohammadi was arrested in the midst of anti-government demonstrations in Tehran and was taken to an unknown location, Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported.
The family of Mohammadi expressed concerns about her safety as they have not heard of her whereabouts since anti-government demonstrations broke out after Iran’s military admits to the downing of Ukraine International Airline’s flight 752, which killed 176 passengers, including 82 Iranian nationals.
The 21-year-old Mohammadi, who after converting to Christianity now prefers to be called Mary, was reportedly arrested on January 12 near Azadi Square, where the protests are taking place.
On the day of her arrest, Mohammadi has published tweets that said the Iranian people were facing “soft repression” from the government who institutionalizes false beliefs through selective coverage of the news.
In a report by Article 18, Mohammadi was described as an activist who are deemed by the Iranian government as having Christian activities that are “propaganda against the system” and “against the national security.”
The young English-language student was kicked out of her university in Tehran because of her vocal criticism of the government’s pressure against religious minorities and human rights activists to abandon their beliefs.
Mohammadi has also faced criminal charges for improper wearing of hijab as the result of her filing a complaint of assault to police authorities last month.
An active social media personality, Mohammadi has tweeted about the imprisonment of nine Christian converts because of their continued religious activities. She claimed that the Islamic republic are monitoring activists and religious minorities and any such activism could lead to being denied a right.
In 2019, Mohammadi started a campaign calling for all Iranian Christians, including converts, to be permitted to go to church citing that they are treated as second class citizens.
When asked about her safety in relation to her human rights activism, Mohammadi said is prepared to go to jail just to fight for the rights of Christians in Iran.