Dozens of Organizations Call for UN Human Rights Council Intervention for the Release of Narges Mohammadi

More than 40 human rights organizations and PEN associations worldwide have called for the intervention of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the immediate release of Narges Mohammadi, a political prisoner in Iran, for the treatment of her deteriorating health condition. In their joint letter published on Monday, November 28, they emphasized the urgent medical care needed for Narges Mohammadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The signatories of this letter recommended that the UN Human Rights Council, during its periodic meeting on the human rights situation in Iran scheduled to take place in Geneva within the next two months, urge Iranian officials to grant Ms. Mohammadi medical leave for humanitarian reasons. This letter has been signed by PEN associations in the USA, Canada, Austria, Norway, and Sweden, as well as organizations such as Reporters Without Borders, the World Organization Against Torture, and the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation. The human rights organizations reminded that Narges Mohammadi has spent over 10 years of her life in prison and has been imprisoned again since November 2021 on charges such as 'propaganda against the regime' and 'collusion against national security.' Ms. Mohammadi has faced heart problems over the past two years, and despite several heart attacks, the authorities at Evin Prison have repeatedly prevented her from being sent to the hospital for angiography. Recently, Mustafa Nili, Narges Mohammadi's lawyer, reported that a suspicious tumor was diagnosed as cancerous in her right leg, and she was sent to the hospital for surgery. The human rights organizations noted in their letter that Ms. Mohammadi was 'returned to prison just two days after surgery, contrary to the recommendations of doctors and the requests of her lawyers for medical leave.' Narges Mohammadi has been sentenced to a total of 13 years and 9 months in prison. The judiciary of the Islamic Republic has also opened new cases against her during her imprisonment and issued new sentences. In the past two months, international human rights organizations have strongly criticized the lack of access for this Nobel Peace Prize laureate to medical services, calling for her release and medical access.