“Applauding is no longer enough”: an appeal to President Macron for the release of Narges Mohammadi
In France, a collective of intellectuals sent a letter to Emmanuel Macron to demand the immediate release of Narges Mohammadi. The Iranian activist – against the death penalty – and Nobel Peace Prize winner has been detained in Tehran jails for over a year. Her state of health has become particularly worrying, says sociologist and writer Pinar Selek, who signed the letter.
Pinar Selek explains more to RFI about the situation of Narges Mohammadi in Evin Prison – 22 Nov 2024
RFI: What is Narges Mohammadi’s state of health?
Pinar Selek: Her condition is very worrying. In Evin Prison where she is being held, Iranian authorities are denying her medical care. However, at 52, she suffers from heart problems, vision problems, a suspicious mass in her breast, and potential bone cancer. All of this puts her life in great danger.
Narges has already been imprisoned for 10 years. In total, she was sentenced to more than 36 years in prison and 145 lashes. She also spent 135 days in solitary confinement.
Why did you write to President Emmanuel Macron?
Narges Mohammadi has never lived the life of a star. Even with her Nobel Prize, even in prison, she chose to continue protesting. That is why the Iranian authorities want to crush her. We demand real intervention from France. You know, we always applaud activists like Narges, we call them heroines, and then we end up forgetting them. We want to say that today, applauding is no longer enough!
Narges is a French honorary citizen, her husband and two children are political refugees in France. This is why we also ask President Emmanuel Macron to use all means of pressure so that through Narges’ situation, the violence in Iranian prisons becomes more visible.
Is this also a way of drawing attention to all political prisoners?
This letter to the president is not because Narges Mohammadi is more important than others. Rather, we believe that through Narges we can draw attention to other prisoners or victims of violence in Iran.
Thanks to her Nobel Prize and her honorary citizenship in France, her case is more publicized and helps raise awareness of what all prisoners in Iran are going through, especially those imprisoned in Evin. This is the case of Narges’ two fellow prisoners, Varisheh Moradi and Pakhshan Azizi, who are sentenced to death. The situation there is unbearable.
