Over 40 International Organizations Demand Immediate Release of Narges Mohammadi

More than 40 international organizations and entities have issued a joint letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council calling for the immediate release of Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist imprisoned in Evin Prison and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. According to the Iran Human Rights Campaign website, the letter from these 44 organizations states: Ms. Mohammadi, who has faced 'fabricated and baseless charges' for over a decade and has been imprisoned, has repeatedly been denied medical services in recent years. The signatories referred to the latest incident where 'only two days after undergoing complex surgery, and contrary to the doctor's recommendations and legal requests for medical leave and suspension of her sentence, she was returned to Evin Prison.' Reports indicate that Narges Mohammadi has suffered from health issues such as heart disease over the years. In this context, her lawyer announced on November 4 that during a recent medical examination, doctors discovered a suspicious bone lesion in her right leg that may be cancerous. Subsequently, she underwent surgery to remove part of the bone in her leg, including a bone graft. The letter further states: 'The prison authorities' behavior in depriving Mohammadi of necessary and urgent medical treatments demonstrates a blatant disregard for her health and well-being during her imprisonment. This alarming situation is not limited to her and is part of a systematic pattern of neglect towards the medical needs of prisoners, including human rights defenders, journalists, and writers.' Previously, neglect of the health and physical conditions of political prisoners has resulted in the deaths of several of them, including Shahrokh Zamani, Bakhtash Abtin, and Hadi Saber. The 44 international organizations expressed solidarity with the recent request from 22 female prisoners in the women's section of Evin Prison, who hold the government and judiciary responsible for creating conditions that seriously endanger the lives of prisoners, and called on 'international human rights stakeholders' to 'cooperate towards necessary changes.' The letter, written on the third anniversary of Narges Mohammadi's arrest, adds: 'We urgently demand her complete and unconditional release, as she fundamentally should not be in prison. We also demand immediate medical leave for humanitarian reasons during this time.' The signatories emphasized: 'We urge Iranian authorities to stop criminalizing human rights activities and refrain from summoning human rights defenders, journalists, and writers to serve prison sentences while their health conditions are critical.' In this regard, the Iran Human Rights Campaign supported the request from the 'Narges Freedom Coalition' for the immediate and unconditional release of Ms. Mohammadi and urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to pressure the Islamic Republic's authorities to respect and protect the rights of all detainees. The coalition's letter also requested that, considering the review of the human rights situation in Iran under the Universal Periodic Review mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council, which will take place in Geneva in the next two months, Iranian authorities be asked to grant Narges Mohammadi medical leave for humanitarian reasons so that she can receive comprehensive and necessary medical care for her deteriorating health condition. The letter notes that 'this imprisoned human rights activist, journalist, writer, and former vice president of the Iranian Human Rights Defenders Center has spent more than 10 years of her life in prison, with her current detention starting in November 2021.' The signatories added that she is currently sentenced to 13 years and 9 months in prison on charges such as 'propaganda against the regime' and 'collusion against national security.' According to the letter, Ms. Mohammadi is a recipient of several international awards, including the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2023, the 2023 Freedom to Write Award, and the 2022 Courage in Journalism Award from Reporters Without Borders. The signing organizations also called on the UN Human Rights Council to ensure that the Iranian government promptly implements the recommendation accepted in the previous Universal Periodic Review cycle five years ago, which states that 'all persons in detention should receive adequate healthcare and appropriate treatment, including preventive measures such as medical condition screenings, free of charge and without discrimination.' Among the signatories are the Iran Human Rights Campaign, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation for Human Rights in Iran, Ahvaz, the Baloch Activists Campaign, the Human Rights Defenders Center, the International PEN, and several affiliated organizations in various countries, Femena, House of Freedom, Defenders Without Borders, the International Federation for Human Rights, Human Rights Iran, Justice for Iran, Hawar, the Kurdish Human Rights Network, Kurdpa, the Society for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran, the Narges Foundation, Reporters Without Borders, Alliance for Iran, the International Organization Against Torture, and Shirin Ebadi.