In Iran, human rights defenders from Germany and Great Britain received 10 years in prison on charges of undermining national security

An Iranian court sentenced a German citizen and human rights activist Nahid Tagawi, as well as a Briton with Iranian roots, Mehran Rauf. They were found guilty of undermining national security. The defendants received 10 years of imprisonment “for leading an illegal group” and another 8 months – “for propaganda” directed against the Iranian political regime. About sentencing reported on Twitter the lawyer of the convicts Mustafa Nili and Tagawi’s daughter Mariam Claren.

66-year-old Iranian Nahid Tagawi lives in Germany, although she still owns an apartment in Tehran. There she was detained in October 2020, when the woman briefly returned to her homeland. In prison, Tagawi contracted the coronavirus. In addition, she was diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes mellitus, informs site dedicated to Iranian political prisoners.

Tagawi appeared before the court on April 28. At the same time, the human rights defender was seen by her brothers for the first time since her arrest.

Convicted Mehran Rauf is an activist who fought for workers’ rights. He was arrested on October 16, 2020 by members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) elite security force. In February, the international human rights organization Amnesty International stated that Mehran Rauf was being held in “prolonged solitary confinement, in violation of the absolute prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment”.

In recent years, IRGC officials have arrested dozens of Iranians with dual citizenship and foreigners, who are usually accused of espionage and undermining national security. Human rights activists believe that this is an instrument of pressure on other countries from Tehran. The Iranian authorities do not recognize dual citizenship and argue that these arrests are not politically motivated, transfers Reuters.

Iran and six other states, including the UK and Germany, are currently in discussions to renew the 2015 nuclear deal. These negotiations reached an impasse on June 20.

In May 2018, then US President Donald Trump announced the country’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). This agreement between Iran and a group of states (USA, Russia, China, Great Britain, France, Germany) concerned the Iranian nuclear program. Tehran has pledged to curtail military research in this area in exchange for the gradual lifting of sanctions imposed by Western countries. In 2019, in response to the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, Iran withdrew some of its obligations.