RSF and the Free Narges Coalition call for Narges Mohammadi’s urgent release as her health deteriorates in prison
Held in Iran’s Evin prison since November 2021, 2023 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Narges Mohammadi’s health has sharply deteriorated in detention. Along with the other steering committee members of the Free Narges Coalition, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), expresses serious concern over the state of her health and calls again for the Iranian authorities to release her immediately and ensure her access to full medical care without delay.
The Free Narges Coalition steering committee expresses urgent concern over the deterioration of health of imprisoned 2023 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Narges Mohammadi in Iran’s notorious Evin prison, where she has been continuously detained since November 2021, following prior periods of incarceration. Mohammadi has spent more than 10 years of her life behind bars in retaliation for her journalism and human rights activism, and additional charges and sentences continue to be added in reprisal for continuing to speak out from inside prison.
On 30 July, the coalition was informed about the results of new medical tests and reports, carried out on 6 July after a 45-day delay, which showed a worrying deterioration of her health due to cardiovascular risks, gastrointestinal complications, and spinal disc herniation. She has been hospitalized several times during her detention since November 2021, including with a 75-percent blockage of one of her main coronary arteries in February 2022, when she underwent an emergency angioplasty and a stent was placed inside that artery. Results of new medical tests show this stent requires replacement due to another blocage, and two other arteries may also need urgent angioplasty. Moreover, in the past eight months Mohammadi has been suffering from acute back and knee pain, including a herniated spinal disc, according to the medical specialists and MRI and CT scan examinations. This condition requires physiotherapy and other regular treatment, which has been communicated to the Evin prison authorities three times in the past eight months; however treatment has so far been denied. Additionally, in February, Mohammadi underwent an endoscopy which showed lesions in her esophagus and stomach, for which she is currently dependent on medication.
Additionally, in mid-June, Mohammadi’s lawyer announced that Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court had issued a verdict sentencing Mohammadi to an additional prison sentence of one year on charges of “propaganda activities against the state.” The evidence cited for this sentence includes her statements and voice messages sent from prison, her letter concerning the boycott of parliamentary elections in Iran, her communications with the parliaments of Sweden and Norway, and exposing sexual violence and other human rights abuses against women prisoners.
“The Free Narges Coalition is extremely worried about the deterioration of Narges Mohammadi’s health under detention. In light of worrying new developments following recent medical tests, our organisations urge the Iranian authorities to release Mohammadi immediately, and to ensure her access to independent and comprehensive medical care without delay.
Mohammadi is a woman human rights defender, journalist, author, and deputy director and spokesperson of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC) in Iran. Mohammadi’s current period of detention started in November 2021, following her sentencing in May 2021 on charges of committing “propaganda activity against the state;” overall, she has spent more than 10 years of her life behind bars during several periods of incarceration. Her tireless struggle for human rights has been internationally recognised, and she is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, the 2023 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, the 2023 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, and the 2022 Reporters Without Borders Prize for Courage.
The Free Narges Coalition Steering Committee is led by the Narges Foundation, PEN America, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and Front Line Defenders. Together, the coalition urges the global community to hold the Iranian government accountable for its abuses. The Free Narges Coalition will be featured at the Nobel Peace Conference 2024, to be held in Oslo on 5 September. Register to attend in person or online.
For more information, to get involved, or to support the campaign, please visit the campaign homepage, or contact the steering committee members via [email protected] at the Narges Foundation; Karin Deutsch Karlekar at PEN America at [email protected]; Rebecca Vincent at Reporters Without Borders (RSF) at [email protected]; or [email protected] at Front Line Defenders. Join us in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Narges Mohammadi. #FreeNarges!
