Narges Mohammadi removed from hospital
Human rights defender Narges Mohammadi, a prisoner of conscience, has been returned from hospital to Tehran’s Evin prison, though she is critically ill and her doctor has advised against discontinuing her specialized treatment.
Narges Mohammadi was taken from Tehran’s Evin prison to a hospital on 11 October after suffering a seizure. She suffers from pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in her lungs) and a neurological disorder that can result in seizures and temporary partial paralysis. Her treatment was disrupted on 28 October when she was returned to Evin prison against her doctor’s advice. Her husband, Taghi Rahamani, has told Amnesty International that the authorities handcuffed her to the hospital bed for her first few days in hospital. They also had officers inside the room and at the door the entire time she was there.
Narges Mohammad had suffered a seizure on 7 October and was taken to Imam Khomeini hospital in Tehran. The authorities returned her to prison after only a few hours despite neurologists recommending that she be hospitalized to receive specialized medical care. After she suffered another seizure on 11 October, the authorities allowed her to be hospitalized.
Narges Mohammadi’s court hearing scheduled for 6 October, on charges including «spreading propaganda against the system» and «gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security» did not take place. The court did not provide any explanation. The office of the Prosecutor General has been denying Narges Mohammadi the right to make phone calls to her children, eight-year-old twins who moved abroad to live with their father as there was no one to look after them in Iran. It has been over three months since she last spoke with her children.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Narges Mohammadi’s trial on charges including «spreading propaganda against the system» and «gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security» was scheduled to start on 6 October. She told Amnesty International, before she was arrested in May 2015, that these charges stemmed solely from her peaceful human rights activism. She said the «evidence» used against her included her media interviews, the fact that she had taken part in gatherings outside prisons before executions to support the families of death row prisoners, her connections with other human rights defenders and her March 2014 meeting with the European Union’s then High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton. Narges Mohammadi has also been charged with «membership of an illegal organization whose aim is to harm national security», because she set up a group campaigning against the death penalty in Iran, Step by Step to Stop the Death Penalty.
Narges Mohammadi had begun serving a six-year jail sentence in April 2012, for «gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security» and «spreading propaganda against the system» through her human rights activism. She was released three months later, after being granted leave from prison to obtain medical treatment for a health condition that caused partial paralysis, which was exacerbated by her imprisonment. She has also suffered from seizures and temporary loss of vision.
She wrote a lengthy open letter from Evin Prison to the Public Prosecutor of Tehran in July 2015, in which she said: «And I, a mother in pain who is tired of hurt and suffering, have stayed behind. My heart has been torn into hundreds of pieces. My hands – without even trying – face the sky. Dear God, please take my hands and give me the patience I need. For a long time, I won’t be able to see their [her children’s] innocent faces. I won’t be able to hear their voices. I won’t be able to smell them while holding them in my arms. Oh God, my arms feel so cold and empty without the presence of my children. My hands move towards my chest which feels as if it’s on fire. My cheekbones burn from the tears that run down my face. The lava flowing from my eyes feels like fire from the depths of my heart.» See her letter in full here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2015/08/narges-mohammadi-tearing-my-heart-to-pieces-iran/
The Iranian authorities frequently transfer prisoners in need of medical care to hospital, but Amnesty International understands that prisoners are not always provided with actual medical care and instead are simply returned to prison. Whether done intentionally or by neglect, failing to provide adequate medical care to prisoners is a breach of Iran’s international human rights obligations. The denial of medical treatment may amount to a violation of the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment, under Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a state party. Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which Iran is also a state party, specifically recognizes the right of every person to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules) also state that prisons must provide adequate medical care to prisoners without discrimination (Rules 24-35). Rule 27(1) of the Mandela Rules provides that «Prisoners who require specialized treatment or surgery shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals. » See this public statement https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/2508/2015/en/ for more information
Name: Narges Mohammadi
