🔶 Hengaw: Hooman Jowkar, Sepideh Kashani and Sima Kashani were detained As part of a new wave of arrests of civil and environmental activists in Iran, Hooman Jowkar and Sepideh Kashani, two well-known environmental activists and former political prisoners, along with Sima Kashani, the sister of Sepideh Kashani, were detained in Tehran. According to a report by the human rights organization “Hengaw,” on Wednesday evening, 10 Tir (1 July), government forces, after entering the personal home of Hooman Jowkar and Sepideh Kashani, arrested them and seized all electronic devices, including their mobile phones and laptops. Hojjat Kermani, a lawyer, also confirmed this news to domestic media and said that Sima Kashani, the sister of Sepideh Kashani, was detained at the same time. In its report, Hengaw said that as of the time this report was being prepared, no information had been published about the arresting institution, the place of detention, the reasons for the arrests, or the charges raised against these three individuals. Hooman Jowkar is the former manager of the “Conservation of the Asian Cheetah” project. Sepideh Kashani had previously also been detained in Bahman 1396 (February 2018), in a case known as “Environmental Activists,” by the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. After more than six years in prison, these two were released from Evin Prison in Farvardin 1403 (April 2024).