ADDITIONAL INFORMATION [4 April 2016]

Narges Mohammadi had begun serving a six-year jail sentence in April 
2012, for "gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national 
security" and "spreading propaganda against the system" through her 
human rights activism. She was released three months later, after being 
granted leave from prison to obtain medical treatment for a health 
condition that caused partial paralysis, which was exacerbated by her 
imprisonment. She has also suffered from seizures and temporary loss of 
vision.

Before she was arrested in May 2015, Narges Mohammadi told Amnesty 
International, that her charges including "spreading propaganda against 
the system" and "gathering and colluding to commit crimes against 
national security" stemmed solely from her peaceful human rights 
activism. She said the "evidence" used against her included her media 
interviews, the fact that she had taken part in gatherings outside 
prisons before executions to support the families of death row 
prisoners, her connections with other human rights defenders and her 
March 2014 meeting with the European Union's then High Representative 
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton. Narges 
Mohammadi has also been charged with "membership of an illegal 
organization whose aim is to harm national security", because she set 
up a group campaigning against the death penalty in Iran, Step by Step 
to Stop the Death Penalty.

From Evin Prison, Narges Mohammadi wrote a letter to the Public 
Prosecutor of Tehran in October 2015, in which she explained how 
inhumanly and unfairly she was treated by the prison guards when she 
was transferred to the hospital for examinations and how her request 
for having a confidential consultation with her doctor was refused by 
the prison director. She wrote about her experience during the 
hospitalization, after she had suffered several seizures: "After 5 
days, I finally was hospitalised. Since I was transferred from Evin to 
the hospital, I have been handcuffed, even when the doctor had to 
measure the blood pressure. As we entered the room, they immediately 
bound me to the bed, as a result, I was not able to lie down nor seat 
comfortably. Because of the nerves' tension, my health got worse and 
worse. None cared of my protests and appeals. From 11 October until 18, 
I was denied any conversation, even with my parents. I was forbidden 
from going out of my room [..]. The door of the room was closed, so 
were the curtains."

The Iranian authorities frequently return prisoners whom they transfer 
to hospital to prison without ensuring that they receive the medical 
care they need. (See: 
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/2508/2015/en/). Failing to 
provide adequate medical care to prisoners is a violation of Iran's 
international human rights obligations. The denial of medical treatment 
may amount to a violation of the absolute prohibition of torture and 
other ill-treatment, under Article 7 of the International Covenant on 
Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a state party. Article 12 
of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 
to which Iran is also a state party, specifically recognizes the right 
of every person to the highest attainable standard of physical and 
mental health. The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of 
Prisoners (Mandela Rules) also state that prisons must provide adequate 
medical care to prisoners without discrimination (Rules 24-35). Rule 
27(1) of the Mandela Rules provides that "Prisoners who require 
specialized treatment or surgery shall be transferred to specialized 
institutions or to civil hospitals."

Name: Narges Mohammadi
Gender m/f: f
Further information on UA: 105/15 Index: MDE 13/3767/2016 Issue Date: 4 
April 2016