Amnesty International: Germany Should Make Greater Efforts to Free Its Imprisoned Citizens in Iran

Amnesty International has called on the German government to make more active efforts to secure the release of its imprisoned citizens in Iran.

Katja Müller-Fahlbusch from Amnesty International says that the previous strategy of the German government, limited to “quiet diplomacy” regarding Nahid Taghavi, a German-Iranian dual national, has not been successful.

Nahid Taghavi, 67, was sentenced last year to more than 10 years in prison on charges of participating in an illegal group. The resident of Cologne, Germany, was detained at her private residence in Tehran without specific charges and transferred to Evin Prison.

Maryam Klaren, Ms. Taghavi’s daughter, has reported on the “unsuitable” physical condition of her mother and said: “Since nuclear negotiations began, they transferred my mother to solitary confinement.”

Amnesty International has explicitly called on the German government to “make efforts for the release of these dual nationals in a more open and public manner.”

Ms. Müller-Fahlbusch referred to the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, two Iranian-British citizens in late March 2022, and emphasized that they were freed only because of the “commitment” of the British government.

Zaghari and Ashoori were released after Britain paid a debt of approximately 400 million pounds to Iran related to a contract for purchasing Chieftain tanks during the Pahlavi era.

More than ten dual national or Western citizens are imprisoned in the Islamic Republic on charges such as “espionage” or “anti-government activities.”

Families, human rights activists, and diplomats believe Tehran uses these prisoners as a leverage tool against foreign countries.

Source: Radio Farda