Rapid Action Network – 12 April 2016 – RAN 08/16

PEN International calls on the Iranian authorities to release journalist Narges Mohammadi immediately and unconditionally. Mohammadi is held in connection with her peaceful exercise of her right to freedom of expression, association and assembly in relation to her human rights work. Her trial on charges including “spreading propaganda against the system” and “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security” is due to continue on 20 April 2016. According to reports, she is also facing a charge of “insulting officers while being transferred to a hospital” in a separate case. PEN International also continues to be concerned for Mohammadi’s health.

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Send Appeals:

• Calling on the Iranian authorities to release journalist Narges Mohammadi immediately and unconditionally as she is imprisoned for the peaceful exercise of her right to freedom of expression and association;
• Expressing grave concern for the health and welfare of Narges Mohammadi, and demanding that she is given all necessary medical attention as a matter of urgency;
• Urging the authorities to allow Mohammadi the right to make telephone calls so that she may speak to her children;
• Urging them to ensure that the right to freedom of expression in Iran is fully respected in law and practice as provided for under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Iran is a state party.

Suggested tweet:

@khamenei_ir @HassanRouhani Defending human rights is not a crime – #Iran must release #NargesMohammadi now!

PUBLICITY

PEN members are encouraged to:

• Publish articles and opinion pieces in your national or local press highlighting the situation about freedom of expression in Iran.
• Organise public events, stage readings, press conferences or demonstrations.
• Share information about Iran and your campaigning activities for Narges Mohammadi via social media

SOLIDARITY

• Elect Narges Mohammadi as an Honorary Member of your Centre and by doing so provide long term support and advocacy for her and her family. For details of the PEN International Honorary Membership scheme, read the PEN WiPC Guide to Defending Writers Under Attack  (Part V, pgs 15-20). Please let us know if you do so and we will ensure that your Centre is networked with others working on the case.
• Send messages of solidarity to Narges Mohammadi.  Email messages may be sent through Frontline Defenders at this link: ‘.((strlen(‘https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/profile/narges-mohammadi’)>40) ? substr(‘https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/profile/narges-mohammadi’,0,40).’…’ : ‘https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/profile/narges-mohammadi’).’‘

Background

Narges Mohammadi is an independent journalist and the former vice-president and spokesperson of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), which advocates for human rights reform and represents political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in legal proceedings. She is also involved in campaigning against the death penalty in Iran.

Mohammadi has long suffered from persecution at the hands of the Iranian authorities; she has been banned from travelling abroad since 2009, when the authorities confiscated her passport. The following year, Mohammadi was arrested from her home without a warrant and held in connection with her work with the Defenders of Human Rights Center. Immediately following her release on bail on 1 July 2010, Mohammadi was admitted to hospital for treatment.

PEN International first began working on her case in 2011 when a Tehran court convicted her of ‘acting against the national security’, ‘membership of the DHRC’ and ‘propaganda against the regime’ for her reporting on human rights violations, cooperation with Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi and visiting political prisoners (see RAN 20/12 and updates). She was sentenced to serve a cumulative sentence of 11 years in prison. The sentence was reduced to six years on appeal in January 2012.

On 21 April 2012, Mohammadi was summoned to Evin prison to serve her sentence. She was released on bail on 30 July 2012 following the severe deterioration of her health.

In May 2015, Mohammadi was arrested days after a fresh trial began on charges including “spreading propaganda against the system,” “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security” and “membership of an illegal organisation whose aim is to harm national security (Step by Step to Stop the Death Penalty, an organisation that campaigned against the death penalty in Iran.)” which had been brought against her in June 2014. At the time of her arrest, intelligence officials are reported to have said that she was being arrested to continue serving her six-year sentence. Her trial has been subject to several postponements without any explanation provided by the court. Her next hearing is expected to take place on 20 April 2016.

Evidence used against Mohammadi included media interviews she had conducted, her connections to human rights defenders, as well as her activities against the death penalty, including her work with the campaigning group, Step by Step to Stop the Death Penalty. It also included her meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy Catherin Ashton in March 2014.

Before her arrest, Mohammadi told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran: “I have been ‘charged’ with every single civil activity I have engaged in since my release from Zanjan Prison in August 2012, such as participating in gatherings on women’s rights, air pollution, and [Rouhani’s] Citizenship Rights Charter. I was also accused of honoring families of political prisoners at meetings, or attending a gathering with Gonabadi Dervishes in front of the Prosecutor’s Office, or giving interviews to media outside Iran. I told them there that when you fit all my civil activities into these two charges, it means that I must remain silent and still.”

Mohammadi suffers from a neurological disorder that can result in seizures, temporary partial paralysis, and pulmonary embolism – a blood clot in her lung. Serious concerns for Mohammadi’s health persist following reports that she suffered several seizures in August and October 2015. According to reports, Mohammadi was taken to hospital on each occasion and on at least one instance she was returned to prison against medical advice. In a subsequent incident she was handcuffed to the bed for the first few days of her hospital stay. According to reports, Mohammadi now faces an additional charge of “insulting officers while being transferred to a hospital” after she filed a complaint with regards to the treatment she experienced at the hands of prison guards when she was transferred to hospital for examinations.

Mohammadi is the mother of eight-year-old twins, and the wife of prominent journalist and activist Taghi Rahmani, who has spent a total of 17 years in prison. Taghi Rahmani left the country in May 2011 following escalating pressure from the authorities. Their children joined him in July 2015. She and her husband are honorary members of Danish PEN. In July 2015, she wrote a moving letter to the Prosecutor General of Tehran, where she described the impact of her persecution on her children and herself.

Narges Mohammadi was elected as President of the Executive Committee of the National Council of Peace in Iran, a broad coalition against war and for the promotion of human rights. She has campaigned for the abolition of the death penalty in Iran, and is the recipient of both the Alexander Langer Award (2009) and the Per Anger Prize (2011) for her human rights work. She was one of awardees of the 2013 PEN/Oxfam Novib Free Expression Award.