Amnesty International Warns of Continued Hunger Strike by Narges Mohammadi

Amnesty International has warned about the ongoing hunger strike of Narges Mohammadi, the imprisoned vice president of the Human Rights Defenders Center, and called for her unconditional release and her right to communicate with her children. Ms. Mohammadi has been on hunger strike since Tuesday, July 7, in protest against the Iranian judicial authorities' prevention of phone contact with her young children. However, Amnesty International, citing Ms. Mohammadi's medical history, states that her health and life are at risk with the continuation of the hunger strike. On Wednesday, July 16, Amnesty International issued a statement inviting those concerned about human rights to send letters to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and senior judicial officials in Iran to protest Ms. Mohammadi's conditions in prison. The statement notes that Narges Mohammadi has resorted to hunger strike as a last resort to communicate with her young children who are outside Iran, while her health condition is critical, suffering from illnesses such as pulmonary embolism and neurological disorders that cause temporary paralysis. Amnesty International emphasizes that Ms. Mohammadi requires special and continuous medical care and medication, which is not available in prison, and that the hunger strike has also put her life at risk. Narges Mohammadi, in a letter explaining her reasons for the hunger strike, stated that she has no demands other than the ability to contact her children. In this letter, she mentions that in the past year, she has only been able to hear her children's voices once, and throughout this time, Iranian judicial authorities have prevented her from communicating with her two children. Ms. Mohammadi, who is serving a six-year sentence in prison, was recently sentenced to additional years in a closed court on charges of 'gathering and colluding to commit a crime against national security' and 'propaganda against the regime,' bringing her total sentences to 16 years in prison.