The second trial session of Nahid Taghavi and Mehran Raouf, dual citizens imprisoned in Iran, was held.
The second trial of Nahid Taghavi, an Iranian-German citizen, and Mehran Raouf, an Iranian-British citizen imprisoned in Iran, was held on Sunday, June 13.
Mehran Rauf's defense lawyer, Mustafa Nili, announced on his Twitter account that the second trial session for his clients would be held: "Today, the second trial session for the clients of Ms. Nahid Taghavi, Somayeh Kargar, Bahareh Soleimani, Nazanin Mohammadnejad, and Mr. Mehran Rauf was held."
He continued his tweet by mentioning that Mehran Rauf was transferred from Security Ward 2A to Ward 1 of Evin Prison on Saturday evening, after about eight months.
German MP Heribert Hirte has also written that Nahid Taghavi is not a threat to Iran's national security, and that he will follow up on her trial with his colleagues in parliament.
Maryam Klaren, Ms. Taghavi's daughter, previously told VOA that she was not allowed access to an independent and voluntary lawyer, and that the investigator in the case told the family members that in order to access the case, they could only choose a lawyer from the list of lawyers under Article 48. The judiciary has not yet explained the reason for Nahid Taghavi's detention.
Nahid Taghavi was arrested by security forces on Friday, October 15, 2019, after searching her home and confiscating some of her personal belongings. During this time, the family of this political prisoner has only been allowed to visit her twice.
Sattar Rahmani, a close associate of Mehran Rauf, also told VOA that this labor activist, along with 15 other people, were victims of a conspiracy by security agents and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Where these people were meeting, the IRGC sent a woman under the pretext of working there to gather information against these people, which ultimately led to the arrest of Rauf and others.
Mehran Rauf, 64, a dual Iranian-British prisoner, was also arrested and transferred to Evin Prison on October 15 when IRGC forces stormed his home. He has been held in prolonged solitary confinement for months.
Currently, in addition to Nahid Taghavi and Mehran Raouf, several American and non-American citizens – including Siamak and Bagher Namazi, Aras Amiri, Kamran Ghaderi, Masoud Mosaheb, and Anousheh Ashouri – are imprisoned in Iran.
Iran has intensified its detention of foreign nationals and dual citizens in recent years. The U.S. State Department has repeatedly condemned the Islamic Republic’s arbitrary and unjustified detention of U.S. and foreign citizens, including dual Iranian nationals, and called for their immediate and unconditional release.
Source: Voice of America
