Human rights organizations petition UNHRC to pressure Iran authorities for release of activist Narges Mohammadi – JURIST

A coalition of human rights organizations urged the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday to intervene for the urgent medical release of imprisoned Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi.

The Free Narges Coalition, alongside over 40 other human rights organizations, petitioned the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in a joint letter to pressure Iranian authorities to “grant Mohammadi a medical furlough on humanitarian grounds so that she is able to receive comprehensive and essential care for a range of serious medical conditions.” The letter comes ahead of Iran’s review in Geneva under the UNHCR’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, through which every UN Member State undergoes a peer review of its human rights records every 4.5 years. The organizations also called for her “full and unconditional release as she should not be in prison in the first place.”

Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian human rights activist, journalist, author, former deputy director and spokesperson of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC), and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, has been imprisoned since November 2021. She is currently serving multiple sentences totaling over 13 years of incarceration in Tehran’s Evin Prison. Mohammadi, who has spent over 10 years of her life in prison, is currently imprisoned on charges including committing “propaganda activity against the state” and “collusion against state security.”

The petition for an immediate medical furlough follows the drastic deterioration of Mohammadi’s health. According to the letter: “Years of imprisonment and months of solitary confinement have severely compromised Mohammadi’s health, leaving her with multiple serious conditions that cannot be addressed through a short, incomplete hospital visit.” Mohammadi was transferred to a hospital for emergency heart surgery in 2022 after suffering multiple heart attacks. Recently, on October 27, 2024, Mohammadi was allowed to attend an appointment for an angiography her cardiologist had prescribed in March. Earlier this month, Mohammadi underwent surgery to remove part of the bone in her lower right leg after doctors identified a potentially cancerous bone lesion.

Mohammadi’s family had “expressed serious concerns regarding repeated refusals by Evin prison officials to transfer her to a hospital for appointments” in early October. In August 2024, Mohammadi suffered violence at the hands of prison guards and was denied hospital care after organizing a peaceful protest against the execution of 30 political prisoners. The letter considers prison authorities’ conduct a “callous disregard for her health and wellbeing,” highlighting the “arbitrary medical neglect of prisoners” and the denial of medical care risking their lives as part of a systematic pattern.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights previously issued a press release in August 2024 expressing concern for Mohammadi and other imprisoned individuals, calling for their “immediate release” and addressing the “pattern of ill-treatment of Iranian detainees, including a lack of access to medical treatment.”