Iranian women’s rights activist and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Narges Mohammadi, faces trial for alleging sexual assaults by Iranian security forces in women’s prisons.
Mohammadi has been incarcerated since late 2021 and her trial, opening Sunday, stems from an audio message shared in April from her prison cell. In this message, she highlighted a “full-scale war against women” in the Islamic Republic.
She stands accused of promoting “propaganda against the regime”. Iranian judiciary officials have yet to comment on the case.
Mohammadi’s family quoted her insistence that the trial should be open to the public. “This would enable witnesses and survivors of sexual assault carried out by the Islamic Republic regime against women in Iranian prisons to testify.”
The activist and journalist, held at Evine prison, Tehran, encouraged Iranian women to share stories of their arrests and sexual assaults by authorities on her Instagram account.
She referred to the case of Dina Ghalibaf, a journalist and student. NGOs report that Ghalibaf was arrested after accusing security forces on social media of handcuffing and sexually assaulting her during a previous subway arrest. Ghalibaf has since been released.
In recent weeks, Iranian authorities have escalated repression against women, including increased surveillance measures.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranian women have been required to adhere to a strict dress code, including the wearing of a veil in public spaces.
Imprisoned since November 2021, Mohammadi hasn’t seen her husband and twin children living in Paris for several years. She stated the upcoming Sunday trial will be her fourth of its kind.
Now 52, Mohammadi has been repeatedly condemned and imprisoned over the past 25 years for her activism against mandatory veiling for women and the death penalty.
