On Thursday, December 9, 2021, Gohar Eshghi was attacked by two motorcyclists on her way to her son’s grave.

Eshghi was badly wounded and lost consciousness. She was transferred to a hospital for care. Eshghi’s son, Sattar Beheshti, a blogger, was arrested by Iranian authorities in 2012 for publishing anti-regime material. Several days later, Behesthi died under torture in the notorious Evin prison.

Since her son’s death, Eshghi has become a vocal critic of the regime. She is regularly persecuted by the regime’s security apparatus. She suffered a heart attack when her home was raided in November.

Eshghi was among the signatories of a letter calling for the resignation of supreme leader Ali Khamenei in 2019.