Thursday , 28 March 2024

Jailed Iranian Activist Mohammadi Calls For “End” Of The Islamic Republic

Iranwire – Prominent Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi has reiterated that she is ready to testify “anytime” about the sexual abuse and acts of torture inflicted to women incarcerated in Tehran’s Evin prison.

Mohammadi, who is serving a long-term sentence in Evin, said in a written message on March 27 that she is “not seeking amnesty” from the Iranian government.

Instead, she called for the “end of the Islamic Republic.”

The message was addressed to a meeting in Geneva organized by human rights organization that was attended by Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran.

Speaking at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council on March 20, Rehman said that violations committed by the Islamic Republic in recent months as part of a broader crackdown on anti-government protests may amount to crimes against humanity.

Earlier this month, a fact-finding mission established by the council called on individuals, groups and organizations to submit information and documentation on human rights abuses committed by security forces in their clampdown on the women-led protest movement.

“I am prepared, at anytime and anywhere, to testify about the abuse and physical and sexual harassment of women and physical torture that occur in prison and to stand as a witness against the regime’s machinery of lies,” Mohammadi said in her message.

According to the activist, the government has announced an amnesty for prisoners to deceive Western governments and international human rights institutions.

Six women who were included in the amnesty and took off their headscarves and chanted “death to the dictator” after their release were summoned by the authorities, Mohammadi said.

She added that some prisoners who were supposed to be included in the amnesty were not released due to opposition from security institutions.

Mohammadi has long been a vocal critic of the repressive government policies and human rights violations in Iran.

In a letter released from Evin prison earlier this month, Mohammadi said she was willing to testify as a witness about “physical sexual assaults and physical torture” in custody.

Human rights activists say security forces have killed more than 520 people and unlawfully detained over 20,000 in connection with the wave of protests sparked by the death in custody in September 2022 of a young woman who had been detained for allegedly wearing her head covering improperly.

Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences to protesters, including capital punishment. 

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