Narges Mohammadi: Let’s Strive for the Freedom of Environmental Activists

Narges Mohammadi, Vice President of the Human Rights Defenders Center, stated that the aim of detaining environmental activists is to 'discourage' society from peaceful activities and called on all groups to support the detainees and stand against the 'suppression of civil society.' According to the Human Rights Defenders Center's website, the vice president announced from Evin Prison that the community will not believe the espionage charges against these environmental activists. Ms. Mohammadi stated that the purpose of detaining environmental activists is to create a horrifying and discouraging image in society, making individuals realize that no type of activity, even peaceful and civil, and no voice, even non-protest, in any area, including the environment, is tolerated. She emphasized that civil activists, parliament members, the government, media, international human rights organizations, and others are obliged to 'responsibly, humanely, and courageously stand against the suppression of civil society' and 'strive for the release of environmental activists from solitary confinement and their right to a fair trial.' Ms. Mohammadi noted the continued detention of 13 environmental activists after 100 days, stating that 'families are fearful, lawyers are worried, and society is bewildered. Reports indicate a bitter tragedy.' Several environmental activists were arrested in February of last year, among them Kavous Seyed-Emami, who died in Evin Prison on February 19, 2018. Judiciary officials announced the cause of the university professor's death as 'suicide,' but they have not answered the question of what conditions led this defendant to commit suicide before going to trial and receiving a conviction. Peyman Darvishan, the lawyer for Kavous Seyed-Emami's family, also reported that the initial forensic report indicated 'bruising in various parts of the body' and 'injection marks on the body,' but the 'exact cause' of Mr. Seyed-Emami's death has not been disclosed. Reports indicate that in recent weeks, the detention of environmental activists has continued in various provinces of Iran, with the number of detainees reaching 55. The continued detention of environmental activists comes at a time when several parliament members, including Mahmoud Sadqi and Mohammad-Reza Tabesh, have stated that anti-espionage experts from the Ministry of Intelligence 'explicitly and substantively declared that there is no evidence of espionage' against them. In another part of her statement, Narges Mohammadi emphasized that 'solitary confinement is illegal and a clear instance of torture and a tool for extracting confessions.' According to Ms. Mohammadi, the Supreme Court's ruling considers solitary confinement 'illegal and a form of torture and additional pressure on prisoners,' and the constitution prohibits torture. However, neither lawmakers, nor overseers, nor those sworn to uphold the law pay attention to it. She began her statement by emphasizing: 'The survivors of Stalinist purges do not forget the terror of waiting to hear their baseless accusations. Baseless accusations that could not be refuted. For example, in the Tamask region, prisoners were accused of intending to blow up the Tam River bridge, while Stalin, society, courts, and defendants knew that such a bridge did not even exist at that time. But the accused confessed under torture, and the courts issued sentences.' Narges Mohammadi had previously addressed members of the Parliament's Article 90 Commission, calling solitary confinement 'a form of torture' and asking them to form a committee to examine the legal and security aspects of solitary confinement. This human rights activist, who has been sentenced to 16 years in prison, has spent considerable time in solitary confinement and suffers from 'pulmonary embolism' and 'muscular paralysis.'