06/09/2023
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
4645 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20007
USA
Re: Request for your immediate attention to the dire situation of Mrs. Nahid Taghavi
Dear honorable Ambassador Emily Haber,
I am writing on behalf of “Voices of Women for Change”, a non-profit USA based women’s organization, to express our grave concerns about the dire situation of the prisoner of conscience, Nahid Taghavi, a 68 year old German – Iranian citizen who was arrested illegally on Oct 2020 solely for exercising her right to freedom of expression and association. On June 4, 2023, the renowned prisoner of conscience and the human rights advocate, Narges Mohammadi sounded the alarm about Nahid Taghavi and the serious deterioration of her health. According to Mrs. Mohammadi’s report, Nahid’s life is in danger and requires immediate medical attention.
Mrs. Taghavi has been held in a small solitary cell for 220 days without enough space for movement, lack of enough light and air, inadequate and poor quality food, and lack of access to adequate medical care and treatment. These inhumane conditions have exacerbated her Diabetes, Hypertension, Lumber disk, and severe joint pain and inflammation in her neck, back and hands. In addition to the systematic medical torture and solitary confinement, she’s been continuously interrogated for long hours in order to put maximum pressure and to create harm.
Creating these inhumane conditions and inflicting maximum pressure is very much consistent with the Islamic Republic’s typical mistreatment of the prisoners of conscience and use of “White Torture” to create fear, intimidation and physical and emotional harm with the intention of eliminating the prisoners physically.
We are deeply concerned that Nahid Taghavi is being tortured in the hands of the Islamic Republic of Iran who has a history of getting the prisoners of conscience murdered by intentional withholding of medical care and utilizing White Torture.
We ask you to use your diplomatic leverage for Nahid Taghavi’s immediate medical release.
We would appreciate a response to our request re: immediate medical release of Nahid Taghavi.
Thank you in advance for your attention to this urgent matter.
Sincerely,
Taraneh Roosta
Voices of Women for Change Network, INC
www.voicesofwomenforchange.org
women@voicesofwomenforchange.org
CC:
NewYork Times
Amnesty International UK
Amnesty International USA
Human Rights Watch
Center for Human Rights in Iran
IranWire
HRANA
International Emergency Campaign(IEC)
The German Embassy’s response
06/09/2023