Amnesty International: Free Narges Mohammadi After a Thousand Days of Unjust Imprisonment

Amnesty International, in a statement marking the thousandth day of imprisonment of Narges Mohammadi, a prisoner of conscience and vice president of the Human Rights Defenders Center, stated that her imprisonment is "an obvious injustice and demonstrates the authorities' determination to suppress those who advocate for human rights." In the statement published on Monday, February 9, the organization urged Iranian officials to immediately and unconditionally release Narges Mohammadi and "end the misuse of the criminal justice system to harass and intimidate human rights defenders." Amnesty International also called on Iranian authorities to prioritize the legitimate demands of defenders regarding the abolition of the death penalty, prohibition of torture, adherence to fair trial principles, elimination of discrimination and violence against women and minorities, and respect for freedom of expression, belief, and peaceful assembly, instead of fabricating security cases against human rights defenders. Narges Mohammadi was sentenced to 16 years in prison by the Tehran Revolutionary Court in May 2016, a ruling that was upheld by the appeals court in the same year. Reports indicate that 10 years of her prison sentence are due to her activities in the Step by Step Campaign for the Abolition of the Death Penalty (Legam). According to Amnesty International's website, the Revolutionary Court cited Narges Mohammadi's collaboration with this peaceful campaign as evidence for the charge of "forming a group with the aim of disrupting national security." The report states that Ms. Mohammadi has claimed that "the judge had a hostile and biased attitude towards her and openly defended the charges brought against her by the Ministry of Intelligence." This human rights activist also stated that the judge accused her "of attempting to change divine rulings due to her activities against the death penalty." According to Amnesty International's website, six more years of Narges Mohammadi's sentence are due to charges of "gathering and colluding against national security" and "propaganda against the regime," which are also based on her peaceful human rights activities. The report mentions that interviews with the media regarding human rights violations, participation in peaceful gatherings in front of prisons to support the families of prisoners sentenced to death, communication with other human rights activists including Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, participation in peaceful protests against acid attacks, and meetings with Catherine Ashton, former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, are among these activities. Narges Mohammadi is serving her sentence in prison while many calls for her release have been made, but so far, the officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have not responded to these requests. For instance, Mahmoud Behzadi, Narges Mohammadi's lawyer, stated on April 27 of this year that the Supreme Court rejected his client's request for a retrial. At the same time, Abdol Fattah Soltani, a defense lawyer and member of the Human Rights Defenders Center, is also in prison. Mr. Soltani has been imprisoned in Evin since September 2011. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison and two years of disqualification from practicing law for charges of propaganda against the regime and forming and managing a group aimed at disrupting national security. Human rights organizations have also called for his release, a demand that has not yet been realized. According to Amnesty International's statement, reports from ISNA news agency and Radio Farda.