Shirin Ebadi: The Ministry of Intelligence intends to kill Narges Mohammadi

Shirin Ebadi, head of the Iranian Center for Human Rights Defenders, accused the Ministry of Intelligence of attempting to murder Narges Mohammadi, describing her condition in prison as dire. Ms. Mohammadi has been threatened to write a letter of repentance in order to be released from prison alive.

Shirin Ebadi, a human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, wrote in a note, referring to the illegal deportation of Ms. Mohammadi from Evin Prison to Zanjan Prison and her detention among ordinary prisoners in the women's ward, and wrote that security agents incite and encourage some prisoners to physically and mentally abuse Narges Mohammadi by promising "leave and other small benefits."

According to Ebadi, Ms. Mohammadi had previously been abused in the same way, causing her to suffer from periodic paralysis, after which she was allowed to receive treatment in the hospital, where she was dying.

Narges Mohammadi, the deputy head of the Human Rights Defenders Center, was imprisoned in Evin Prison since May 2015 and was deported to Zanjan Prison in January 2019. Her transfer to this prison was accompanied by physical violence from the warden of Evin Prison.

Zanjan Prison does not have a separate ward for holding prisoners of conscience and political prisoners, and Ms. Mohammadi is held with ordinary prisoners, criminals, and drug addicts.

Ms. Ebadi's note continues, stating that the reason for Narges Mohammadi's transfer to Zanjan Prison is to express solidarity with those killed in November 2019, and that prison officials are denying her "health and medical facilities."

In recent days, Ozra Bazargan, Narges Mohammadi's mother, also expressed concern in a letter to the head of the judiciary about her sick daughter being held among ordinary crime suspects, the unsanitary prison environment, and the risks to her physical and mental health.

In this letter, Ms. Mohammadi's mother wrote, referring to the fact that her child had been sexually and physically threatened by a prisoner accused of murder and robbery: "Her 90-year-old father and I are concerned about our daughter's physical and mental health and are declaring a danger, and we hold the judicial system responsible for any incident."

Ms. Ebadi also referred to the inhumane treatment of Narges Mohammadi by prison security officers in her note, writing that a security officer who introduced himself as “Mahmoudi” and who, contrary to the law, “all decisions” related to Narges’ case would be made by him (and not by the prosecutor, assistant prosecutor, or court), had told Narges that “if she does not write a letter of repentance and resign from the Human Rights Defenders Association, her body will be taken out of prison.”

At the end of her note, Shirin Ebadi clarified that the aforementioned agent was present and observing the scene in Evin Prison when Narges was “deviously sent” to Zanjan, adding: “I accuse and frankly say that the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic intends to kill Narges Mohammadi.”

Narges Mohammadi is currently serving a 16-year sentence. Six years of this sentence were issued for the charge of “propaganda against the system” and another 10 years for her activity in the “Step by Step to Abolish the Death Penalty” campaign.

Source: DW