Human rights activist Narges Mohammadi's life is in danger

The pressure and security and police actions against a group of human rights activists and lawyers in Iran have intensified in recent days; yesterday (Thursday, June 17), at the request of the Ministry of Intelligence and the judicial order of the Arak Prosecutor, Abdolfattah Soltani, Narges Mohammadi, Arash Kaykhosravi, Mostafa Nili, and Shahnaz Akmali, civil activists and human rights lawyers, were prevented from entering Shazand County. These civil activists had traveled to this city to meet with the family of Mohammad Najafi, a lawyer and human rights activist imprisoned in Arak Prison.

Last Saturday, security agents also beat human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who had gone to Shiraz with several other human rights activists. Narges Mohammadi, along with Jafar Azimzadeh (labor activist), the mother of Ebrahim Kebatdar (one of those killed in November 2019), the mother of Pouya Bakhtiari (one of those killed in November 2019), and Pouran Nazemi (civil activist), had gone to Shiraz to meet the family of Navid Afkari, an executed political prisoner. They were met with violent treatment by security forces and detained for several hours.

Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist who has been threatened by security officials several times in recent days, told the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran: "I am very worried about my life. In the past few days, security forces who do not even identify themselves have brutally attacked me and my companions twice."

According to Narges Mohammadi, "Security officials have threatened that you must stop your activities because you are harming the Islamic Republic's system. I responded by saying that I am a human rights activist who had only gone to visit families and had not committed any crime."

Narges Mohammadi, referring to the illegal behavior of security officials, told the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran: "When I asked them to show me their warrant and ID card, they said we had orders from above. This is a clear example of kidnapping. They were behaving very brutally and threatening."

Narges Mohammadi emphasized that after the recent behavior of security agents, "I feel very insecure that I will lose my life in these encounters."

Hadi Ghaemi, director of the Human Rights Campaign in Iran, expressed concern about the increasing pressure on civil activists, saying: "Security officials and agents are primarily responsible for establishing security and ensuring the comfort of citizens in society, not, on the contrary, putting civil and human rights activists at risk by pressuring, threatening, harassing, and beating them."

According to Hadi Ghaemi, "Even in the laws and regulations of the Islamic Republic, visiting or expressing sympathy with the families of political and ideological prisoners or civil and human rights activists is not criminalized in any way, and for this reason, all actions in this regard, including requests from security officials, judicial orders from the prosecutor, and harsh treatment by officers, are illegal and legally subject to prosecution and trial."

The Human Rights Campaign in Iran, while warning about the safety of civil and human rights activists, strongly condemns the illegal behavior of security and judicial authorities towards these activists and calls on the relevant authorities to stop the violent attacks on activists and to identify and prosecute those responsible for the attacks and beatings on Narges Mohammadi and her companions. The Iranian government’s history of dealing with human rights activists, independent lawyers and political activists, which has always been based on a policy of elimination and violent attacks on these activists, has increased concerns about the continuation of violent attacks on Iranian civil activists. Meanwhile, in recent months, many civil and human rights activists and former political and conscientious prisoners have become the voices of many victims who have been oppressed by the government at various times; from those killed in November 2019 and the Ukrainian plane crash to former political and conscientious prisoners who have appealed for justice in two open letters against the punishment of “solitary confinement.”

Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist who was released from prison in October this year after serving eight and a half years in prison, was sentenced to 80 lashes, 30 months in prison, and two cash fines by the judiciary in a new verdict in Ordibehesht 1402. In this new case, Narges Mohammadi faced charges such as “propaganda against the regime,” “sit-in at the prison office,” “rebellion against the prison administration and officials,” “destruction of windows,” and “slander” regarding the charges of torture and assault; however, the human rights activist had said that she did not recognize the issued verdict as official and would “rebell and disobey” it.

Source: Iran Human Rights Campaign