Urmia: 18 days of detention and lack of information regarding the fate of Shalir Mam-Qaderi She suffers from cancer and is a female head of household
April 25, 2026; following 18 days since the arbitrary detention of "Shalir Mam-Qaderi," a 34-year-old Kurdish woman from the city of Mahabad, there is still no information regarding her fate, and it is unclear where she is being held in the city of Urmia. She, who was also arrested in February 2026, suffers from breast cancer and is the sole guardian of her two children. Nevertheless, she is deprived of access to a lawyer, medication, and meetings with her family, and her children have been left without a guardian.
An informed source, while confirming this news, told Kurdpa: Shalir Mam-Qaderi was arbitrarily arrested on the morning of Thursday, April 8, 2026, following a raid by security forces on her home and without the presentation of a judicial warrant, and was transferred to an unknown location. Investigations have shown that she is being held in the city of Urmia, likely in one of the security centers. During these 18 days, she has had only one few-second call in which she stated she was fine, but the call was immediately disconnected.
This is her second arbitrary detention within the past three months. At midnight on February 1, 2026, dozens of armed security forces arrested her with violence, threats, and insults by breaking the door of her house; while she was not even allowed to put on appropriate clothing. She was transferred to one of the security detention centers of the Intelligence Department in the city of Mahabad and was released on February 5, 2026, after posting a bail of two billion and 500 million Tomans. According to sources, during that period, she was subjected to severe physical and mental torture and one of her legs was broken; such that after her release, she went directly to the hospital and underwent surgery and still requires continued treatment. During that detention as well, she was deprived of access to a lawyer and meetings with her children and had only two short calls with her family.
These arrests have taken place while Shalir Mam-Qaderi has been struggling with breast cancer for more than a year and has been undergoing chemotherapy and needs to take medication continuously. However, in both stages of detention, she was not allowed to have her medications with her.
Shalir Mam-Qaderi is a woman heading a household of her two daughters, one of whom is a minor. She makes a living through house cleaning and provided for the living expenses of herself and her children.
Until the time of the publication of this news, no information regarding the reasons for the arrest of this young woman has been released, and the security forces have provided no explanation in this regard. Furthermore, she is still deprived of access to a lawyer, meetings with her family, medical attention, and her required medications. This situation, alongside her family circumstances, has increased concerns regarding the violation of the human rights of her and her children.
In this regard, Kurdpa, emphasizing the arbitrary detention of Shalir Mam-Qaderi, the continuation of the lack of information about her status, the deprivation of treatment despite suffering from cancer, and her children being left alone, evaluates these cases as examples of the systematic violation of human rights, particularly towards women and children; a violation that continues under the shadow of the ruling structures in the Islamic Republic, without any effective support for these vulnerable groups.
