United Nations experts on Tuesday accused Iran of failing to provide adequate medical care to jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi. AFP reported.
Experts reported that Mohammadi suffered physical violence earlier this month. According to her family, Mohammadi, an acclaimed human rights activist who won the 2023 Nobel Prize for her activism, was injured in clashes involving female inmates at Tehran’s Evin prison in early August.
The experts said Mohammadi “was allegedly subjected to physical violence” on August 6, during which she “lost consciousness and suffered injuries to her rib cage and other parts of her body.” While Iranian authorities admitted that a confrontation took place, they attributed the incident to “provocation” by Mohammadi and denied that any abuse of prisoners had taken place.
Mohammadi, 52, has been incarcerated since November 2021 and has spent much of the past decade in and out of jail. UN experts expressed deep concern for her physical and mental well-being in a joint statement, urging Iranian authorities to release her immediately and ensure she receives comprehensive medical care without delay, like other detainees.
Experts highlighted that Mohammadi has been suffering from severe back and knee pain, including a herniated spinal disc, according to medical assessments. They suggested that the denial of medical care appears to be aimed at punishing and silencing her, raising serious concerns about her right to health and well-being.
The experts also noted a pattern of ill-treatment of detainees in Iran that they said could amount to torture and inhuman treatment. They reiterated their calls for the immediate release of human rights defenders and all those arbitrarily detained in Iran.
Mohammadi continues to defend human rights and support the protests that erupted in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, who had been arrested for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code for women.
