Five Female Prisoners Refuse to Appear at Evin Prosecutor's Office After Summons

Narges Mohammadi's Instagram account reported that the Evin prison security prosecutor's office summoned five female prisoners, including this human rights activist, but they refused to appear. According to a post published by Ms. Mohammadi, on September 8, the women's ward office at Evin prison summoned Narges Mohammadi, Pakhshan Azizi, Mahbubeh Rezaei, Varisheh Moradi, and Pariush Moslemi for clarification of charges at the 33rd district prosecutor's office 'Moqaddas Ardabili,' but all five did not show up on September 9. On July 16, following the announcement of the execution of Reza Rasayi, a protester accused of killing a Revolutionary Guard official, security forces attacked the protesting women prisoners in Evin, injuring several of them. Despite severe signs of injury, the prison and prosecutor's office prevented the presence of a forensic representative to document bruises and injuries and even obstructed the transfer of some victims to the hospital despite a prison doctor's order. Following reports of the beating of protesting women in Evin prison, including Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a group of human rights activists called for international investigations in this regard. 37 female prisoners were 'banned from visitation' following protests against a death sentence. Narges Mohammadi's account further noted the visitation and communication bans imposed on some female prisoners in protest against executions across the country, adding: 'After two overnight sit-ins by female prisoners in the Evin courtyard protesting the issuance of death sentences, including against Pakhshan Azizi and Sharifeh Mohammadi, and the widespread execution of death sentences across the country, the prosecutor's office and prison, in an unprecedented move, banned a large number of female prisoners from communication and visitation for one to three months.' Varisheh Moradi, a Kurdish political prisoner, and Pakhshan Azizi, an Iranian Kurdish activist, both face the death penalty on charges of 'baghi,' which in the Islamic Penal Code means armed rebellion against the Islamic Republic. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated in a statement published on September 3 that, based on information collected and received by its experts, the number of executions, which was 45 in July, more than doubled in August, increasing to at least 93. The Islamic Republic uses very vague definitions to describe and classify the 'crimes' of its political and ideological opponents, which grossly violate international standards regarding the issuance of death sentences. UN human rights experts had previously reported that they were aware of the trial and sentencing process for six political activists accused of 'security crimes' and had contacted responsible authorities in Iran about the fate of these individuals over the past two years. These six individuals are Sharifeh Mohammadi, Pakhshan Azizi, Mohammad Mehrabi, Ahmadreza Jalali, Jamshid Sharmad, and Abbas Daris.