Narges Mohammadi: They stood me up with my head down to film me

UN reporters have called the broadcast of a video of Narges Mohammadi’s examination in Zanjan prison a “violation of her privacy” and worthless. In a revealing account, the political prisoner says she was filmed coughing violently, using serum and an injection.

The vice president and spokesperson of the Center for Human Rights Defenders, in a narrative about the conditions in Zanjan Prison, described the prison's health and general facilities, his own physical condition, and a video that was shown of his examination in the prison's infirmary.

This note describes the medical and sanitary conditions of the prison from the second half of July to the first of August on a daily basis. Ms. Mohammadi wrote that there were 12 COVID-19 prisoners in the ward on July 5th, while there was not even hand sanitizer or any other care or facilities, and after writing a letter to each of them, they were given a mask.

He continues that on July 14, he was taken to the doctor feeling weak and coughing when the doctor advised him to take deep breaths. He received a prescription for serum, vitamins, and ampoules. A day later, he was taken to the doctor again under the guise of “forced admission”: “The doctor asks how I am, I say I am fine…”

Ms. Mohammadi writes that she watches the news on TV at night in the ward, and there she understands why the forced visit to the doctor was necessary: ​​“… the previous film could not be broadcast, it was just that I was in a bad state. They put me in a headlock and injected me with an injection to film…. They couldn’t even broadcast the whole thing. The coughing was unbearable. The prison guard’s own words could not be broadcast either.”

Previously, Javed Rahman, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, and 15 other UN experts called the video broadcast of the examination of Narges Mohammadi in the Zanjan prison infirmary a "violation of privacy" and considered its content "valueless" because it could not be verified.

The Islamic Republic's judiciary called the film, which appeared to have been secretly filmed, a "checkup" and evidence proving the political prisoner's health. However, Taghi Rahmani, Narges Mohammadi's husband, called the film another evidence of the judiciary's scandalous record, writing on Twitter: "If Mizan News Agency were honest, it would have spoken to Narges for 30 seconds. Why are you interviewing a intimidated defendant for hours? We only heard Narges Mohammadi talk about the prison conditions and her illness for a few seconds. You have slaughtered justice in the name of maintaining power."

In their statement, Javed Rehman and other UN special rapporteurs on human rights have noted that Iranian prisons are overcrowded and, expressing concern about Iran's ability to combat the spread of the coronavirus in unsanitary prisons, have called for the release of all political and ideological prisoners in the country.

Narges Mohammadi, vice president and spokesperson for the Iranian Center for Human Rights Defenders, has been serving a 16-year sentence since May 5, 2015. Six years of this sentence were issued for propaganda against the regime and another 10 years for her activities in the “Step by Step to Abolish the Death Penalty” campaign. She was forcibly sent to Zanjan Prison in January 2019.

Narges Mohammadi, a mother of two, suffers from pulmonary embolism and muscular paralysis and has only been on leave for three days during her years in prison. She has been asked to write a letter of repentance in order to be released from prison alive. Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi has accused the Ministry of Intelligence of plotting to kill Narges Mohammadi.

In addition to the UN's special rapporteurs on human rights, Amnesty International has also criticized Ms. Mohammadi's detention in "inhumane conditions." 500 political and civil activists inside and outside Iran have also called on Ebrahim Raisi to grant this political prisoner sick leave as soon as possible.

Three days ago, Narges Mohammadi's children stated in a video message on social media that the prison guards had not allowed their mother to call them for 11 months, and asked the audience to be their voice so that their mother's voice could be heard.

Narges Mohammadi, meanwhile, wrote in her account of the conditions in Zanjan Prison: “Some people say go on a hunger strike so they can give you Ali and Kiana’s phone numbers. But I don’t want to go on a hunger strike for a personal demand. I told the judge to just turn off the water tap. You imprisoned me, took my children, beat me, exiled me, and didn’t spare any torture. Turn off the water too. I’m not worried about these things. I don’t have any personal demands. After the massacres of January 2017 and November 2019, I’ve stood in a different place. Reformism wasn’t our promise, it was our solution for another promise. I’m loyal to that promise. And I have no intention of reconciliation.”

Source: DW