(NEW YORK)— PEN America today expressed alarm and urgent concern for the safety of imprisoned 2023 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Narges Mohammadi and other women attacked by Iranian military forces and prison guards at Iran’s Evin prison on August 6.
For months, Mohammadi and other women in custody at Evin prison have been protesting against executions in Iran. Prison authorities have also prevented critically-ill women who required medical attention from receiving treatment by locking the doors. Prison authorities responded to protests by ordering military forces to assault Mohammadi and other women in the prison yard.
According to her cellmates, Mohammadi—who has been denied direct communication with her family since November 2023—was repeatedly punched in the chest by security and military forces. Experiencing severe pain, she collapsed and fainted. A prison doctor ultimately determined that Mohammadi required further medical testing, but she will not receive attention until Saturday because Thursday and Friday are non-working days in Iran and officials did not transfer her to a hospital after the attack.
On August 1, PEN America as part of the Free Narges Coalition issued an urgent statement of concern for Mohammadi’s health after delayed medical testing indicated a worrying decline of her already precarious health. Her family is concerned authorities at Evin prison, who have knowledge of her existing health condition, may have intentionally targeted Mohammadi’s chest to worsen her condition. Evin prison authorities have previously neglected and delayed medical care for political prisoners with fatal results. In January 2022, imprisoned poet Baktash Abtin died after prison officials denied him medical treatment and ignored comorbidities.
For at least 10 months, prison officials have also retaliated against Mohammadi by denying her right to calls and visits with family for speaking out against abuse in Evin prison. Unjustly imprisoned poet Mahvash Sabet has faced similar punitive restrictions for her writing from prison. The 2023 Freedom to Write Index shows that Iran continues to be the world’s second-largest jailer of writers, second only to China. Iranian authorities held at least 49 writers in custody during 2023.
Narges Mohammadi, who won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, is a human rights defender, journalist, author, and deputy director and spokesperson of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC) in Iran. Mohammadi’s current period of detention started in November 2021, following her sentencing in May 2021 on charges of committing “propaganda activity against the state.” She has been a tireless and internationally recognized defender of human rights. In 2023, the won the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award.
Join PEN America in urging the Iranian government to release Narges Mohammadi from prison by signing the petition.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], (201) 247-5057