Concerns rise over deteriorating health of Narges Mohammadi

Translation by Banooye Sabz | Text edited by Persian2English – Taghi Rahmani, the husband of imprisoned human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, told BBC Farsi yesterday: in a brief telephone conversation with her family, Mohammadi informed them of the recurrence of her paralysis. According to Rahmani, after speaking to her children, Mohammadi informed her mother-in-law: on the evening of May 6, 2012, she became dizzy, fell to the ground several times, and on one occasion even banged her head on the floor.

Rahmani stated that Mohammadi, who began serving her sentence in Evin prison two weeks ago, has once again been interrogated. Rahmani, who currently lives abroad, claimed that Mohammadi’s latest interrogation is nothing but a pressure tactic no different than a hostage-taking situation.

Rahmani added: his wife suffered from neurological shock in the aftermath of the 2009 [post-election] mass arrests, and it took months of treatment to cure her from paralysis. This latest arrest and interrogation process has led to the recurrence of her condition.
Narges Mohammadi, the Deputy Head of the Defenders for Human Rights Center (DHRC) and the Executive Chairwoman of the National Peace Council, was arrested by security agents on April 21 at her father’s home in Zanjan. She was transferred to Evin prison in Tehran.

In May 2009, Mohammadi was summoned to branch 4 of the Revolutionary Court for her membership in the DHRC. After defending her case in court she was released on [approximately] $40 thousand [USD] bail. She was once again arrested by security agents at her residence in the middle of the night on June 9, 2009, and released after one month in prison.

Those close to Mohammadi report her physical condition as alarming. Taghi Rahmani has also expressed concern regarding their young twins, who are forced to live without their mother.