Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:  Ravina Shamdasani

Location: Geneva

Subjects: (1) Iran


 Iran

We are appalled by the sentencing of a prominent Iranian anti-death penalty campaigner, Nargis Mohammadi, to 16 years’ imprisonment in charges that stem from her courageous human rights work. Ms. Mohammadi is already in Evin Prison in Tehran, serving out a prison sentence for breaching the country’s sweeping national security laws. The human rights defender is believed to have serious medical conditions and has reportedly not been granted adequate access to the specialised medical care she needs. 

The UN Human Rights Office and other human rights mechanisms have long urged the Iranian authorities to release Ms. Mohammadi, but to no avail. Her sentencing is illustrative of an increasingly low tolerance for human rights advocacy in Iran. We urge the Iranian authorities to ensure the immediate release of Ms. Mohammadi and all those detained for merely exercising their human rights.

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 97 67 / rcolville@ohchr.org), Ravina Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org) or Cécile Pouilly (+41 22 917 9310 / cpouilly@ohchr.org)

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