Prison on Prison for Narges Mohammadi; PEN America Strongly Condemns

PEN America has strongly condemned the judicial-security officials of the Islamic Republic for unjustly adding another year to the prison sentence of Narges Mohammadi, a prominent human rights defender and writer, and has called for her "immediate and unconditional" release. According to the statement from this organization, PEN America condemns the government's action to increase Mohammadi's sentence as a "deliberate strategy" to "silence the brave and outspoken voice" of this symbol of "human rights activism." The statement also mentions that the charge of "propaganda against the regime" stems from her recent disclosures regarding "sexual abuse" of "female prisoners" in the prisons of the Islamic Republic; this charge brings her total sentence to 10 years and 9 months along with 154 lashes. Furthermore, the PEN America statement notes that despite being imprisoned in the notorious Evin prison, Mohammadi continuously defends other political prisoners and sheds light on the dire conditions of the prison. The statement also reminds that the Islamic Republic is one of the "main violators of freedom of expression" and has the highest number of "female writers in prison" in the world. Narges Mohammadi's Instagram account reported on Friday that the judiciary has sentenced this prisoner to another year in prison. According to this Instagram account, managed by Mohammadi's relatives, she has been convicted in this case for "propaganda activities" against the Islamic Republic due to her positions over the past year. The account stated that the new ruling is one of five cases filed against her in the Evin Security Prosecutor's Office, which was handled in Branch 29 of the Revolutionary Court under Judge Mazloom, and Mohammadi refused to participate, declaring that she does not recognize the Islamic Republic and its deceptive, show trials. Earlier, PEN America awarded the "Freedom to Write" prize posthumously to Narges Mohammadi, the imprisoned human rights activist in Iran. Susan Nossel, the CEO of PEN America, stated in a press release: "Narges Mohammadi is an inspiration to the world for her courage and unyielding resistance against the Islamic Republic's determined efforts to silence her." Narges Mohammadi, a political prisoner, still has five open cases in the judiciary; a conversation with Taghi Rahmani, Narges Mohammadi's husband, about the specifics of her new one-year prison sentence. Narges Mohammadi: The Islamic Republic is destroying Iran's civil society. Narges Mohammadi: Women's defiance will defeat the authoritarian power of the religious government. Forty-four female activists have called for the "immediate and unconditional release" of Maryam Akbari Monfared. Narges Mohammadi has rejected the summons to the Evin Prosecutor's Office "in her fifth case." Narges Mohammadi warns about the repetition of the events of July 9; Taghi Rahmani: The government wants to stifle the university's voice.