Narges Mohammadi in Phone Call from Prison: The Islamic Republic is Responsible for Anything That Happens to Me

Narges Mohammadi, a political prisoner held in Evin Prison, emphasized during a phone call from inside the prison on Tuesday, September 20, regarding the incidents that have occurred for her in the Evin medical facility: "The responsibility for anything that happens to me lies with the Islamic Republic." In a text published on her Instagram, she added: "Following the suicide of one of my fellow inmates, which happened for the second time in the past three days, I went to the Evin medical facility. I complained about the brutal behavior of one of the nurses and her inhumane treatment, mockery, and insults. Due to not having a headscarf on my head, they wanted to return me to my cell, which I resisted." She continued: "Suddenly, a person whom the prison officials have so far refused to identify threatened me with vulgar and insulting words, saying he would show me where this place is and cut my voice. I told him I know where this place is; this is the same place where the executioners killed Behnam Mahjoubi, Kavous Seyed-Emami, Zahra Kazemi, Hadi Saber, Sattar Beheshti, and Sina. And now you are threatening me with cutting my voice and showing your tortures." In the continuation of her phone call, which was reflected on her Instagram page, Narges Mohammadi stated: "When I responded to this person, prison forces came towards me, grabbed my hands and body, and dragged me to the prison yard. I started shouting, climbed on top of one of the cars, and shouted 'Death to the Islamic Republic' until the prison officials came and took me down from the car and put me in an ambulance to return me to my cell." In the end, Narges Mohammadi emphasized from Evin Prison: "The responsibility for anything that happens to me lies with the Islamic Republic." Narges Mohammadi, a 51-year-old human rights activist in Iran, has been imprisoned multiple times. She was released in October 2020 after serving five years in prison, but with the formation of a new case, she was sentenced in June 2021 to 80 lashes and 30 months of imprisonment on charges of "propaganda against the regime," "sit-in at the prison office," "disobedience to prison officials," and "destruction of glass" and "defamation." This human rights activist was imprisoned again in November 2021. Over the past year, she has repeatedly protested various issues from prison and has been sentenced to "propaganda activities" against the Islamic Republic due to her stances. The judiciary's punishments against Narges Mohammadi increased to 10 years and 9 months of imprisonment and 154 lashes with the issuance of another new sentence. The American PEN Association believes that the charges against Narges Mohammadi are politically motivated. Narges Mohammadi was reportedly beaten in Evin for "not complying with mandatory hijab."