Amnesty International: Germany should do more to release its citizens imprisoned in Iran

Amnesty International called on the German government to work more actively to release its citizens imprisoned in Iran.

Katja Müller-Falbusch of Amnesty International says that the German government's previous strategy of limiting itself to "quiet diplomacy" in the case of Nahid Taghavi, a dual German-Iranian citizen, has not been successful.

Nahid Taghavi, 67, was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison last year for participating in an illegal group. She lived in Cologne, Germany, and was arrested without charge at her home in Tehran and transferred to Evin Prison.

Maryam Klarne, Ms. Taghavi's daughter, reported her mother's "inappropriate" physical condition, saying: "From the day the nuclear negotiations began, they transferred my mother to solitary confinement."

Amnesty International has explicitly called on the German government to "work more openly and publicly for the release of these dual nationals."

Ms. Muller-Falbusch referred to the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anousheh Ashouri, two Iranian-British citizens, in late March 2011, and emphasized that they were released only because of the "commitment" of the British government.

Zaghari and Ashouri were released after paying a debt of approximately £400 million owed by Britain to Iran, which was related to the contract to purchase Chieftain tanks during the Pahlavi era.

More than ten dual-national or Western citizens are imprisoned in Iran on charges such as "espionage" or "anti-government activities."

Relatives, human rights activists, and diplomats believe Tehran is using these prisoners as leverage against foreign countries.

Source: Radio Farda