Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi Protest Narges Mohammadi's Sentence

Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights activist, and Jafar Panahi, a filmmaker, have described the 16-year prison sentence for Narges Mohammadi as unjust and illegal, stating that Ms. Mohammadi and her family have been continuously harassed by security and judicial forces. Narges Mohammadi, a lawyer and human rights activist, is currently serving a six-year prison term and has recently been sentenced to 16 years in a closed court for charges including 'conspiracy to commit a crime against national security,' 'propaganda against the regime,' and 'forming and managing the illegal group Legam.' The court ruling specifies that due to existing regulations regarding the aggregation of sentences, Ms. Mohammadi has received a 10-year prison sentence. The prison sentence for Narges Mohammadi faced protests both inside and outside Iran just hours after it was issued. Ms. Mohammadi's husband, Taghi Rahmani, described the issuance of this sentence as revenge against the Iranian civil society. Mr. Panahi and Ms. Sotoudeh, who are among the critics of this ruling, stated in a statement published on Nasrin Sotoudeh's Facebook page on May 29 that '10 years of this sentence was issued for her membership in the step-by-step abolition of the death penalty campaign, Legam, which legally and openly seeks to abolish the death penalty.' The court condemned Narges Mohammadi for 'forming and managing' Legam; Taghi Rahmani, Ms. Mohammadi's husband, has previously stated that she is 'not the founder of the Legam group' but rather a member of this campaign. Part of the statement by Sotoudeh and Panahi states that 'she and her family have been continuously harassed by security and judicial forces over the years, violating their right to a secure family life.' Ms. Mohammadi has been sent to solitary confinement three times over the years. As a result, this civil activist has developed neurological diseases that have, in some cases, led to her hospitalization outside of prison. Her right to communicate with her children has also been repeatedly taken from her. She recently described the suffering of solitary confinement as incomparable to prison and much worse. Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi have called for help from 'honorable judges who still care about preserving the dignity of the judiciary' to end the Iranian judiciary's 'creation of political terror' and 'defend the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.' They have also called for the release of Ms. Mohammadi and all political prisoners. The UN Human Rights Office, human rights defenders, Reporters Without Borders, the US representative to the UN, and a group of prominent civil and political figures from various countries have called for the release of Narges Mohammadi.