Update, 27 July 2020
We were very glad to learn that Narges Mohammadi was finally allowed to call her son Ali. The call came shortly after he and his twin sister Kiana released a video appeal urging supporters to ‘Be our voice so that we may hear our mother’s voice‘, having reportedly not spoken to her for 11 months.
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‘ The thing we feared most has happened’
English PEN is deeply concerned by reports that imprisoned writer and human rights defender Narges Mohammadi may have contracted COVID-19 in Zanjan prison where she is serving sentences totalling 16 years for her activism. She suffers from underlying health conditions for which she has been denied adequate treatment, further increasing concerns for her welfare.
For months, English PEN has been highlighting the increased risk to Narges Mohanmadi’s health and well-being, and that of imprisoned writers across the globe, as a result of the ongoing pandemic. The World Health Organisation has stated that ‘People deprived of their liberty, and those living or working in enclosed environments in their close proximity, are likely to be more vulnerable to the COVID-19 disease than the general population’. While thousands of prisoners have been released as a result, many political prisoners remain in detention.
On 22 July 2020, 16 United Nations experts issued a call for the immediate release of Narges Mohammadi, stressing the risk she faces:
For those with underlying health conditions, such as Ms. Mohammadi, it may have life-or-death consequences. The Iranian authorities must act now before it is too late.
The experts highlight the arbitrary nature of Mohammadi’s ongoing detention and the new charges brought against her in February 2020, for which she could reportedly face a further five years in prison and 74 lashes.
They also refer to a lack of contact with her family: Mohammadi has reportedly been denied calls with her children, who live in exile with their father, for 11 months. The twins, Ali and Kiana, recently issued a video appeal asking supporters to ‘Be our voice so that we may hear our mother’s voice‘.
English PEN joins PEN International and sister centres around the world in reiterating our calls on the Iranian authorities to release Narges Mohammadi immediately and unconditionally. In the meantime, we urge the authorities to ensure that she is granted full access to all necessary medical care and be allowed to speak to her children as a matter of urgency.
Read more about Narges Mohammadi
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Show your support
Please share details of Narges Mohammadi’s situation with friends and colleagues, and join the call for her release on social media #FreeNarges
Write to the authorities
- Expressing serious concern for the health of Narges Mohammadi and calling on the authorities to permit her access to all necessary medical care as a matter of urgency;
- Urging them to immediately and unconditionally release of Narges Mohammadi and all those detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression;
- Calling for a full investigation into reports that Mohammadi is being ill-treated and denied adequate medical care in prison.
Appeals to:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
Grand Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader Islamic Republic Street
End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Twitter: @khamenei_ir (English-language account)
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Hassan Rouhani
Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: [email protected] http://rouhani.ir/register.php
Twitter: @HassanRouhani (English)
Head of the Judiciary
Ebrahim Raisi
c/o Public Relations Office
Number 4, Deadend of 1 Azizi – Vali Asr Street Tehran,
Islamic Republic of Iran
Please keep us informed of any action you take in regard to Narges Mohammadi’s case, including any responses you receive from the authorities.
Image credit: Mohammadi family
