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