Taghi Rahmani Discusses the Latest Situation of Narges Mohammadi

On Tuesday, July 8, 650 social, cultural, and political activists and academic figures issued a statement demanding the release of human rights activist Narges Mohammadi from prison before her trial. Narges Mohammadi's court session is scheduled for July 15. Radio Farda inquired about the latest status of this political prisoner from her husband, Taghi Rahmani, a national-religious political activist in France. Taghi Rahmani: "The issue was the lack of phone access in the women's ward, where according to prison regulations, mothers can have weekly phone contact with their children under ten years old. Unfortunately, this right has been denied in the women's ward of Evin prison. A more serious issue is that one of the prison doctors prescribed two contradictory medications for Narges's pulmonary embolism, which is dangerous. Interestingly, another prison doctor stated that these medications should not be taken this way and that consuming them is not good. Narges has the right to receive appropriate medications for her pulmonary embolism from her own specialist, as she suffers from this condition and needs to take these medications regularly. On another front, the current issue is the court session scheduled for July 15 for Narges. Although the court is set to be held, it seems that the lawyers have not been able to read the case file properly due to her imprisonment, and based on the new ruling, this court session will take place without her having access to her lawyer and preparing her defense. Is that correct? Neither the lawyers could read the case file properly, nor did she have access to a lawyer. Additionally, a series of repeated charges have been reiterated, and the judge is Mr. Salavati, who announced that she must appear for trial on July 15. They will likely have to take her from prison to the court. The freedom of action that exists outside for reviewing her case is not available. How did your children's previous visit with Narges Mohammadi go last week? You wrote on your Facebook page about the difficult conditions of your children's visit with your wife, Narges Mohammadi. I raised this on my Facebook page for two reasons. One is that child activists say children should not be involved in political issues. But on the other hand, children from political families inevitably become involved in political issues. When a child under ten or under fifteen has to contact their mother from a booth, they cannot hug her, kiss her, or express emotional affection, making these visits hard and painful. I raised this issue not only as Narges's problem but also as a problem for many children, and solutions can be prepared for this. First, civil institutions and educational figures should raise this issue to cause legal changes, so that the prison authorities concede to provide a more suitable environment, not just for Ali and Kiana but for many other children who are even more condemned and anonymous than Narges. Mr. Rahmani, the letter signed by 650 academic, social, cultural, and political figures calls for the release of Narges Mohammadi. Why was this letter published before her trial? 650 individuals from various backgrounds, from Ahmad Montazeri to Hassan Shariatmadari, including academic circles and researchers from inside and outside the country, signed this letter. It truly shows that Narges has been a human rights activist who has not reflected her political inclinations in her human rights activities and has worked towards improving human rights in Iran. Narges has not written a letter to Mojtaba Khamenei or Khamenei. Narges has tried to bring changes to the country's laws in favor of human rights and has called for the proper implementation of even flawed laws to take a step further towards society. These activists rightly emphasize that such treatment of a human rights activist is not correct. A human rights activist's work and duty is to change laws in favor of freedom, justice, and equality for the people of a country as much as possible. In this context, six Nobel Peace Prize winners have called for the release of Narges Mohammadi, and the Human Rights Defenders Center has expressed concern about the situation of sick prisoners. Shirin Ebadi and Amnesty International have also called for the release of Narges Mohammadi. If her essential medications are not provided, she will go on a hunger strike.