Shirin Ebadi Warns About the Situation of Narges Mohammadi and Other Political Prisoners: The Government Has Drawn Its Sword

Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, expressed concern over the danger threatening the life of Narges Mohammadi, another imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner in Iran, as well as other political prisoners. In a message published on her account on Friday, she urged political and civil activists and international organizations to turn their attention from the 'false changes that the new Islamic Republic government is supposed to create' to 'the people who are seeking real change.' Ebadi noted that Narges Mohammadi and other female political prisoners protested against the execution of Reza Rasayi, a 34-year-old protester from Shahin Shahr in Kermanshah province, and even in prison, they did not cease to defend human values. She wrote: 'Narges and other prisoners have been beaten so severely that they have been sent to the hospital, and the condition of Sarvnaz Ahmadi is dire.' Female political prisoners in the women’s ward of Evin prison shouted slogans in protest against the execution of Reza Rasayi on Tuesday, August 7, broke the door of the guard office, and clashed with the security forces who had come to suppress them. The Human Rights Campaign in Iran expressed serious concern on Thursday, August 10, about the 'escalation of violence' against female political prisoners in Iran, reporting that following the attack by the Evin guards, 17 of these political prisoners were injured, and Narges Mohammadi suffered a heart attack. Taghi Rahmani, Ms. Mohammadi's husband, later reported on his account on the 'X' network that Narges did not have a heart attack but experienced respiratory distress and severe pain due to the guards' blows to her chest, and several other female prisoners were also injured. According to information obtained by the Persian section of Voice of America, Hedayatollah Farzadi, the head of Evin prison, ordered the guards to attack the women’s political prisoners' ward on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 7, and was present during the attack, verbally abusing them. Narges Mohammadi's family stated in a statement that under the current security conditions, no action is being taken to transfer her to the prison infirmary or a hospital. They also expressed concern that the blows to her chest could have serious health consequences, given her history of heart disease and stenting. They mentioned that they have not had any contact with her since December 8 and are unaware of her condition. In part of this message, Shirin Ebadi referred to what she called the 'misanalysis' of some political and civil activists regarding support for Masoud Pezeshkian, citing the execution of 81 people in less than a month, the issuance of a death sentence for Sharifeh Mohammadi one day before the elections, and for Pakhshan Azizi a few days after, the execution of Reza Rasayi, and the waiting of eight other political prisoners for execution as evidence that 'the Islamic Republic has drawn its sword.' This Nobel Peace Prize winner added: 'Various governments are unable to create change, and elections are not the playing field for defenders of democracy and human rights in the Islamic Republic.' The latest statistics show that the number of executions in Iran has increased unprecedentedly following Masoud Pezeshkian's election to succeed Ebrahim Raisi; human rights organizations have called for decisive action from the international community in this regard. According to reports from human rights organizations, the Islamic Republic authorities have intensified the repression of activist women and human rights defenders following nationwide protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police in 2022, which has been dubbed 'Women, Life, Freedom,' and have resorted to harsher methods and heavy sentences to silence dissenters and those with differing opinions. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed concern over the executions in Iran.