Two months after her arrest, several European MPs campaigned for her release, eventually leading to the court approving a bail of $143,000. However, Gorji was unable to pay.

Gorji was arrested at home on October 11th, 2014. According to a report by the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), security forces went to her house, arrested her and then searched the premises.

A source close to Gorji told HRANA “security forces entered the house after midnight in a very harsh manner and arrested Ms. Nahid Gorji. After taking her away, they again entered the house and took some of her personal belongings, such as her laptop, cell phone and even her camera.”

Gorji was taken to Koohsangi court in Mashhad but the authorities did not release any other information.

In December 2014, eight European MPs sent a joint letter to the High Representative of the European Union in Foreign Policy and Security Affairs, Federica Mogherini, to protest against Nahid Gorji’s arrest. The MPs urged her to discuss their concerns with the Iranian government and demand her freedom, while also expressing their concern for Gorji’s health and safety. Mogherini was also asked to urge the Iranian authorities to better prison conditions.

For three weeks, Gorji was not allowed to contact her family. Eventually, the court approved a bail of nearly $143,000 but she was forced to remain in detention because she could not afford it.

In October 2015, at the anniversary of her arrest, she was eventually released on bail due to severe depression and her poor psychological state, according to HRANA.

The Court of Appeal of Khorasan Razavi Province sentenced her to three years in prison in March 2016, and on April 8th she started serving her sentence at Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad.

According to relatives her arrest and conviction stem from her activities on social media. 

Gorji suffers from diabetes and heart disease, but, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, prison authorities have denied her adequate medical care in prison.

“She is sick and needs medical leave,” an unnamed source said on June 27th, 2016. “Nahid used to take pills for her diabetes and heart disease before she went to prison. But now they won’t even allow her family to bring her pills to prison. She also suffers from leg pain and her bones are losing mass. Vakilabad Prison does not have the proper facilities to treat her and she’s not being transferred to the hospital.”