Mr. President, we, writers, artists, feminists and activists from all over the world, are writing to ask you, as a matter of urgency, to take action on behalf of Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and tireless defender of human rights, currently detained in Tehran's Evin prison.

Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, a political opponent, was also held in Iranian prisons for 14 years, and found refuge in France in 2012. Their twin children, Ali and Kiana Rahmani, joined him in 2015, then aged 8.

Today, they consider France their second home. For years, Narges Mohammadi has led a relentless fight against execution and gender apartheid in Iran, and has paid a heavy price for her courage. In 2023, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her "fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all." This award, the highest recognition in the defense of human rights, earned her an even harsher sentence.

Since November 2023, she has been deprived of her basic visiting rights and all contact with her family and lawyer. In total, Narges Mohammadi has been sentenced to over 36 years in prison, 145 lashes, and has already served 135 days in solitary confinement. Despite more than a decade behind bars, her ordeal continues, as do those of her co-detainees, such as Varisheh Moradi and Pakhshan Azizi, both sentenced to death and with whom she shares Evin Prison's women's ward.

Health seriously compromised

Narges Mohammadi's sentence has been increased for her peaceful protest against their death sentence. At the age of 52, she now faces over 10 more years of incarceration, while the Iranian authorities deny her the necessary medical care, deliberately putting her life at risk. Her health is seriously compromised. She suffers from heart problems, back pain, impaired vision, a suspicious breast mass and potential bone cancer.

This refusal of treatment, as her condition deteriorates day by day, is part of a calculated cruelty aimed at silencing one of Iran's most emblematic voices for justice and human rights.

Mr. President, this is why we are calling on you, as a matter of urgency, to act firmly, and by all means, to obtain the immediate and unconditional release of Narges Mohammadi. Not only does she have strong family ties in France, but she can count on the support of many French towns and citizens, who have done her the friendship and honor of granting her honorary citizenship, such as Lyon, Chilly-Mazarin in the Paris region, La Buisse in Isère and Vire in Calvados.

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