"I will not rest until Nahid Taghavi is free!" - Mariam Claren
A statement on the first anniversary of the arrest of my mother Nahid Taghavi
بیانیه ای بمناسبت اولین سالگرد دستگیری مادرم ناهید تقوی
"A year has now passed since my mother was arrested.
A productive year for me, the year I woke up:
A year full of anger at extreme injustice and hatred of tyrants.
The year I finally saw the world through Nahid's eyes.
My mother spent seven months of last year in cold solitary confinement with 1,000 hours of interrogation. She caught Coronavirus in prison and was not granted leave. All this was for just one reason, because of her thinking and her research.
Nahid is concerned about people. She is concerned about women, about workers and toiling people. She is concerned about the environment, and against repression, and against the endless wars in the Middle East. She is against all oppression. The Iranian regime has imprisoned Nahid and her friends for discussing this at home and in cafes and parks and for protesting against people's impoverishment.
In the past 40 days, the authorities informed my mother that she could go on leave due to her poor physical condition. Our family prepared the bail in just two days, but there was no leave?!!
As you know, my mother is a dual-national. I declare here that my mother was arrested because of her beliefs and I will not allow her to become a pawn of the dirty game being played by the German and Iranian governments for their own interests and deals."
Mariam Claren, October 16, 2021
On the week of the anniversary of Nahid Taghavi's arrest on October 16 2020, major human rights organizations in Germany issued press releases calling for action and major news outlets covered the anniversary (see below), including interviews with Mariam Claren.
"A year has now passed since my mother was arrested.
A productive year for me, the year I woke up:
A year full of anger at extreme injustice and hatred of tyrants.
The year I finally saw the world through Nahid's eyes.
My mother spent seven months of last year in cold solitary confinement with 1,000 hours of interrogation. She caught Coronavirus in prison and was not granted leave. All this was for just one reason, because of her thinking and her research.
Nahid is concerned about people. She is concerned about women, about workers and toiling people. She is concerned about the environment, and against repression, and against the endless wars in the Middle East. She is against all oppression. The Iranian regime has imprisoned Nahid and her friends for discussing this at home and in cafes and parks and for protesting against people's impoverishment.
In the past 40 days, the authorities informed my mother that she could go on leave due to her poor physical condition. Our family prepared the bail in just two days, but there was no leave?!!
As you know, my mother is a dual-national. I declare here that my mother was arrested because of her beliefs and I will not allow her to become a pawn of the dirty game being played by the German and Iranian governments for their own interests and deals."
Mariam Claren, October 16, 2021
On the week of the anniversary of Nahid Taghavi's arrest on October 16 2020, major human rights organizations in Germany issued press releases calling for action and major news outlets covered the anniversary (see below), including interviews with Mariam Claren.
Amnesty International Germany:
AI Germany published a major press statement and called on the German government to act. In the press release, Julia Duchrow, Deputy Secretary General of Amnesty International in Germany, denounced:
"The fact that Nahid Taghavi has been imprisoned in Evin Prison for a year and was sentenced on flimsy grounds is clear evidence of the lack of the rule of law and the serious disregard for human rights in Iran. Nahid Taghavi has only made use of her right to freedom of expression. It is being pursued as part of Iran's perfidious strategy that misuses dual citizens as bargaining chips for political purposes."
NGO IGFM (International Society for Human Rights):
In a press release, Martin Lessenthin, chairman of the International Society for Human Rights, emphasized:
“It is tragic that the German foreign policy has failed to achieve justice and freedom for Nahid Taghavi within a year. Especially with regard to her health problems, something must finally move. Nahid Taghavi shouldn't have to spend another Christmas innocently behind bars.” The Frankfurt-based human rights organization demands the immediate and unconditional release of the German citizen.
Martin Lessenthin joined Mariam Claren to record a segment for a German TV channel broadcast on their Oct. 17 morning show.
Terre des Femmes:
The well-known German NGO for women rights around the world started Awareness Days on Thursday about the situation of female political prisoners in Iran, with a central focus on Nahid Taghavi. Their press release states: “TERRE DES FEMMES e.V. demands the immediate unconditional release of Nahid Taghavi and all other women who are in political captivity in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Readers can access, in German, their online article and view their extensive interview with Mariam Claren.
Media coverage:
- BILD (biggest German daily newspaper) published an extensive interview with Mariam and quoted Amnesty International Germany
- tagesschau.de (Internet site of German Channel1) segment
Mariam Claren, quoted in press coverage, said:
"A year has now passed since my mother was arrested. A year in which I woke up and saw the world through the eyes of my mother Nahid Taghavi. 365 days in which my mother was deprived of all rights by the Iranian authorities. For my part, I will not rest until my mother Nahid Taghavi is free, until then it will always be: #FREENAHID."