The Iranian journalist and activist for human rights Nargis Mohammadi, which was released last October, was sentenced to 80 lashes and imprisonment for 30 months, as announced by the lawyer today.
Mohammadi, 49, was a spokeswoman for the Center for Human Rights Defenders in Iran when she was arrested and jailed in May 2015. The center was founded by lawyer Sirin Ebadi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003.
Mohammadi, known for her fight for the abolition of the death penalty in Iran, was released in October after her initial sentence of ten years was reduced because, among other things, she “created and led an illegal organization.”
On Tuesday, the Etemad newspaper reported that Mohammadi was facing a new prison sentence and flogging for “propaganda against Iran’s political system”, “defamation” and “rebellion against the penitentiary authorities”. According to the newspaper, he was accused of publishing a statement against the death penalty, of spreading baseless allegations of “torture and harassment” and of staging a sit-in protest while in Evin prison in Tehran.
Her lawyer, Mahmoud Behzadi-Rad, confirmed the information. Mohammadi has no plans to appeal, “given the circumstances,” he added, without elaborating.
The tragic situation in Iran
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the activist journalist was “forcibly transferred” from Evin Prison to Zanjan Prison in northwestern Iran.
The Etemad newspaper reported that Mohammadi claimed that he had been “beaten and harassed” in Evin prison. But instead of considering her complaint, “justice has opened a new case against my client,” said lawyer Behzadi-Rad.
In Brussels, EU diplomats described the sentencing of Mohammadi as a “new, worrying event” and urged Iran to reconsider the case, respecting international humanitarian law and taking into account the deteriorating health of the activist.
