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RFL/RE -An Iranian-German citizen imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison has been released on a furlough, though she has to wear an electronic ankle bracelet that her daughter said makes the situation more like house arrest.
Mariam Claren said in a social media post on January 9 that her mother, Nahid Taghavi, was on temporary release, which she hopes “is an important first step for her unconditional release.”
“Unfortunately, Nahid has to wear an electronic ankle tag during the furlough. Nahid’s movement will be restricted to 1,000 meters from her apartment in Tehran,” she said on X, formerly Twitter.
“This makes her release more comparable to house arrest.”
The 70-year-old Taghavi, a trained architect who lived in the German city of Cologne for nearly four decades, was active in supporting women’s rights and freedom of expression in Iran, according to the German rights group IGFM.
She was detained along with British-Iranian citizen Mehran Raoof. The two were accused of illegal propaganda activities and participating in a banned group.
Taghavi, who denied the charges, has been held at Evin prison since October 2020 and placed in prolonged solitary confinement.
In August 2021, an Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced her to 10 years and eight months in prison following what Amnesty International called a “grossly unfair trial.”
Taghavi was repeatedly denied access to medical care until being granted leave last July. She was forced back to prison in November.
Western countries have repeatedly said that Iran is trying to take advantage of foreign countries by taking dual and foreign nationals hostage and then using them in prisoner swaps. Tehran denies the accusations.
Taghavi holds both German and Iranian passports.
Iranian security forces have taken some 40 foreign nationals into custody during the current wave of unrest, often without revealing any charges.
