According to information obtained by IranWire, despite the expiration of her two-month temporary detention, judicial authorities in Fars Province and Adelabad Prison in Shiraz have prevented the release of Astareh (Maryam) Ansari, an attorney and member of the Fars Province Bar Association. They insist on continuing her detention under inhumane conditions, imposing restrictions that have put the lawyer’s health at serious risk.
The judge presiding over Astareh Ansari’s case is Seyyed Mahmoud Sadati, the same judge from the high-profile case of executed wrestler Navid Afkari, who is notoriously known as the “Executioner of Shiraz.” Another judicial official in Shiraz, notorious for misconduct and violence, is Deputy Prosecutor Zahra Ajdari Shirazi, who has blocked all bail requests for Astareh Ansari’s conditional release. According to IranWire’s sources, one of the primary bases for her arrest and the charges against her is her pro bono legal representation of individuals detained during the nationwide protests in January.
Astareh Ansari is a prominent lawyer in Shiraz. Before her arrest, alongside taking on cases that many other lawyers refused to touch, she was actively involved in humanitarian and philanthropic work. As one of her close associates recalled in an interview with IranWire: “From distributing food in impoverished areas to looking after homeless and vulnerable women and helping animals, Astareh took care of three dogs, and during her brief, heavily monitored phone calls from prison, she remains deeply worried about them. All of Astareh’s income went toward public charity work. She dedicated her life to this path.”
