Dear friends and colleagues,
The Deputy Head and spokesperson of the Defenders for Human Rights Centre, Narges Muhammadi, has just been re-sentenced for an extra sixteen years imprisonment, ten years of which is enforceable. Prior to this she has been sentenced to six years. Mrs Muhammdi has already been in prison for two years. As such, sadly, she has to spend 16 years in prison, simply because she has spent her life defending humanitarian values and dignity. She is not only deprived of her freedom but she is put away from her family and her young children. Obviously, the Human Rights community worldwide misses one of its most hardworking, and caring members.
Dear all,
The Defenders of Human Rights Centre in Iran has been actively defending the political prisoners’ rights, defending Children whom are facing death penalty, helping other human right activists, women rights, defending journalists and freedom of expression, and protecting ethnic and religious minorities’ rights.
Today, however, Iran’s judiciary and its security forces, yet again, attempts to silent human rights defenders’ voices, indicating terrible price for freedom of speech in Iran. Thus, the Defenders for Human Rights Centre in Iran condemns the sentence, which is evidently the result of Mrs Muhammdi’s objection against death penalty. We thus call the sentence unjust, and unfair, and therefore we demand her unconditional release.
The Defenders for Human Rights Centre in Iran, hereby, calls upon all the freedom seekers, organizations, human right activists and the defenders of freedom of speech, to join our universal solidarity to consider every possible attempt to free a member of our community. We shall bring the massage forward that we are members of the same community and that any harm to one of us, is considered as a harm to all of us.
Shirin Ebadi
The Chair of the Defenders for Human Rights Centre