Urmia Prison; 42 days of detention of Shelir Mam-Ghaderi, a Kurdish woman with cancer Her life is in serious danger due to torture

May 19, 2026; with the passage of 42 days since the arbitrary detention of "Shelir Mam-Ghaderi," a 34-year-old Kurdish woman from Mahabad, the latest received information indicates that she has been severely subjected to physical torture; in such a way that security forces were forced to transfer her to a hospital under strict security measures to undergo surgery. Nevertheless, despite the non-completion of the treatment process and essential medical care, she was returned again to Urmia Prison and remains deprived of the right to meet with her children.

An informed source, while confirming this news to Kurdpa, said: In recent days, Shelir Mam-Ghaderi, following severe physical torture that led to fracture and bleeding, was transferred to the hospital and underwent surgery, but before the completion of the treatment process, she was returned again to Urmia Prison. This is while, in addition to suffering from cancer, she is the guardian of her two children and still remains deprived of the right to any meeting in the prison.

Previously on April 30, 2026, simultaneous with the twenty-third day of her arbitrary detention, Kurdpa had reported the deprivation of Shelir Mam-Ghaderi from access to a lawyer and also her severe physical torture. She is now held in Urmia Prison, and the process of her deprivation of the right to access a lawyer, meetings, and contact with her children still continues. Considering her suffering from breast cancer, there is serious concern regarding her physical condition, especially since under the condition of illness, she has been subjected to torture in security detention centers.

Shelir Mam-Ghaderi, who from February 2026 until now has been detained in two stages, suffers from breast cancer and holds the guardianship of her two daughters, including a young child. Nevertheless, in both stages of detention, she has been deprived of access to a lawyer, medication, and meetings with family, and her children have been left without a guardian. During 42 days of arbitrary detention, she has had only one few-second call with the family.

On April 25, 2026, Kurdpa in an exclusive report had reported her arbitrary detention on the eighteenth day of detention and had written that she is held in absolute lack of news in an unspecified location in Urmia.

Shelir Mam-Ghaderi was arrested arbitrarily on the morning of Thursday, April 8, 2026, following a raid of security forces on her home and without the presentation of a judicial warrant, and was transferred to an unknown location. This is while this is considered her second arbitrary detention over the past three months.

Previously as well, at midnight on February 1, 2026, dozens of armed security forces arrested her by breaking the door of the home and accompanied by violence, threats, and profanity; in such a way that she was not even allowed to wear proper clothing. She was transferred at that time to one of the security detention centers of the Intelligence Department in Mahabad and was released on February 5, 2026, after depositing a bail of two billion and 500 million Tomans. According to informed sources, she had been subjected to severe physical and psychological torture during that period as well, and one of her legs was broken; in such a way that after release, she was transferred directly to the hospital and underwent surgery, and was still in need of the continuation of treatment. In that detention as well, she was deprived of access to a lawyer and meetings with her children and had only two short calls with the family.

These detentions have taken place while Shelir Mam-Ghaderi has been grappling with breast cancer for more than a year and is under chemotherapy and requires continuous consumption of medication. Nevertheless, in both stages of detention, she has not been allowed to have her medications along.

Shelir Mam-Ghaderi used to provide for the living expenses of herself and her children through the work of cleaning homes. Now, with the continuation of her detention, her children are left without a guardian and concerns regarding their situation have increased.

Until the publication of this news, no information has been published regarding the reasons for the detention of this Kurdish woman, and security forces have provided no explanation in this regard. Furthermore, she still remains deprived of access to a lawyer, meetings with family, complete medical care, and her required medications; a situation that alongside her physical and family conditions, increases concerns over the serious violation of her human rights and those of her children.

In this regard, Kurdpa, emphasizing the arbitrary detention of Shelir Mam-Ghaderi, the continuation of torture, deprivation of treatment despite suffering from cancer, deprivation of the right to access a lawyer, and her children being left alone, evaluates this situation as a clear example of the systematic violation of human rights, especially towards women and children; a violation that continues under the shadow of the security and judicial structures of the Islamic Republic, without any effective support for vulnerable strata.