The Iranian authorities again arrested human rights activist Narges Mohammadi - yesterday, Tuesday - after releasing her for a short period for medical reasons, according to her relatives and Iranian activists.
Taghi Rahmani, the human rights activist's husband, wrote - on his Twitter account - that members of the Iranian intelligence services came to Narges Mohammadi's home in Tehran, where she and photojournalist Alia Mutalibzadeh were and took them to prison.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana), Mohammadi and Muttalibzadeh were transferred to Qarchak Women's Prison, southeast of Tehran, a prison criticized by human rights defenders for its difficult detention conditions.
Narges Mohammadi's relatives expressed concerns about her health;
She suffers from heart problems.
The activist had told the American newspaper "Washington Post" before her arrest that the issue of human rights should be a "priority" for Westerners in their negotiations with the Islamic Republic to revive the nuclear agreement.
She explained that Western economic sanctions on Iran "weakened the Iranians economically more than they weakened the regime."
Narges Mohammadi was sentenced last January to 8 years in prison and 70 lashes for violating national security.
Mohammadi was released in October 2020 after 5 years in prison, but she was arrested again in November 2021 in Karaj, a suburb of Tehran.
And she was sentenced again in May 2021 to receiving 80 lashes and being imprisoned for 30 months, for her conviction on charges of "propaganda against the regime", "defamation" and "rebellion" against the prison authority.
Amnesty International condemned Mohammadi's "arbitrary" arrest, saying that she is a "prisoner of conscience who is only targeted for her peaceful activities for human rights."
Narges Mohammadi is known for her long struggle against the death penalty in Iran, and she is the spokeswoman for the Center for the Defense of Human Rights, founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi.
The "Reporters Without Borders" organization describes Qarchak prison as "particularly known for its appalling health conditions, in violation of all international conventions related to human rights."