Narges Mohammadi's Message to Sakharov Prize Ceremony: The Dominance of Religion over Science and Thought in Iran Reminds One of the Middle Ages

Narges Mohammadi, the imprisoned vice president of the Center for Human Rights Defenders, in a message to the Sakharov Prize ceremony awarded to her, emphasized two demands: the independence of universities and the need to build a true civil society, stating that "the dominance of religion over science and thought in Iran is reminiscent of the Middle Ages." The Sakharov Prize was jointly awarded to Narges Mohammadi and the Ravi Koochimanji Association for Development in India by the American Physical Society in 2017, and the award ceremony took place on Sunday in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Mohammadi's message was read by Nira Touhidi, a professor at California State University. According to the website of the Center for Human Rights Defenders, Ms. Mohammadi stated that Iranian citizens are grappling with a regime that "cannot tolerate diversity of ideas; it responds not with logic, reasoning, or dialogue, but with repression." Referring to the long-term imprisonments of intellectuals, writers, journalists, and political and civil activists, as well as the house arrest of figures like Ayatollah Montazeri and leaders of the Green Movement, she added: "By dictatorship, I mean a power that considers itself above the law... a ruler who has normalized the use of white torture—imprisoning suspects in solitary confinement—for political prisoners." The vice president of the Center for Human Rights Defenders also highlighted the conditions of solitary confinement, stressing: "Add to these conditions the pressures of interrogation, humiliation, threats, shouting, beatings, insults, administering unknown and unlabelled drugs, sexual insults, insomnia, fear and anxiety—all aimed at obtaining forced confessions." According to Ms. Mohammadi, "solitary confinement is used for brainwashing so that individuals, deprived of their natural living conditions, lose the hallmark of being human, which is their thoughts and beliefs, or their physical and mental health is jeopardized." Last year, Narges Mohammadi also referred to solitary confinement as "a form of torture" in a letter to members of the Parliament's Article 90 Commission, asking them to form a committee to examine the legal and security dimensions of solitary confinement. This human rights activist, sentenced to 16 years in prison, has spent long periods in solitary confinement and suffers from "pulmonary embolism" and "muscular paralysis." The American Physical Society stated that the Sakharov Prize was awarded to Narges Mohammadi for her "leadership in activities related to peace, justice, and the abolition of the death penalty and her unconditional efforts to promote human rights and freedoms for the people of Iran." Mohammadi also noted that "institutionalizing gender, sexual, religious, ethnic, and ideological discrimination, especially against women," and "the incompetent management and corruption of individuals and government agencies" are among the other characteristics of the dictatorial regime. Addressing the members of the Sakharov Association, the imprisoned vice president of the Center for Human Rights Defenders raised the two demands of university independence and the "need to build a true civil society." She emphasized that "the government's dominance and the dominance of religion over science and thought in Iran is reminiscent of the Middle Ages in Europe." Ms. Mohammadi also wrote that "the path to democracy in Iranian society is neither war and violence nor military intervention by foreign countries, but the realization of civil society." She pointed out the "fear" of the Islamic Republic government towards civil institutions, emphasizing that this government does not tolerate even the activities of professional organizations such as the Child Labor Support Association. In the conclusion of her message, Narges Mohammadi stressed: "To institutionalize human rights and achieve peace between the people and the rulers, I will endure my deprivation of freedom and human rights, even though separation from my children is a pain less than dying for me." She added: "I am a woman, a mother, and with all my femininity and maternal emotions, I seek a world free from violence and injustice, even if I have suffered from violence and injustice dozens of times myself." Ali and Kiana, Narges Mohammadi's two young children, live with their father in Paris, and she has not met her children since June 2015. Ms. Mohammadi went on a hunger strike in 2016 in protest against the Iranian judiciary's prevention of telephone contact with her young children. Many requests for Narges Mohammadi's release have been made, but Iranian authorities have so far ignored these requests. The Sakharov Prize was also awarded in 2014 to Omid Kokabi, a physics PhD student who was arrested after a trip to Iran in 2010 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was conditionally released last year after losing a kidney in prison. This award is named after Andrei Sakharov, a famous Russian scientist and dissident, and is given to individuals who work to promote human rights and democracy worldwide.