German-Iranian woman Nahid Taghavi released from prison in Iran

Nahid Taghavi, a German-Iranian woman, has been released from an Iranian prison, her daughter announced on social media platform X. She wrote: "It's over. Nahid is free! After more than four years in the Islamic Republic of Iran as a political prisoner, my mother... has been released and is back in Germany."

Taghavi, 70, was arrested in Tehran in October 2020 and sentenced to 10 years in prison in August of the following year on charges of "establishing a group aimed at disrupting national security" and "spreading propaganda against the system." Amnesty International stated that these charges, which she denied, were apparently related to a social media account about women's rights, and that the trial process was extremely unfair.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote in response to photos of Taghavi and her daughter embracing at the airport on Sunday: "It is a comforting moment that Nahid Taghavi can finally embrace her family again." The Iranian judiciary did not immediately comment on the matter. Amnesty International stated that Taghavi's health deteriorated sharply during her detention in the notorious Evin Prison, where conditions were "cruel and inhumane" and medical care was "inadequate."

Taghavi was held in solitary confinement for seven months between her arrest and conviction, during which time she was forced to sleep on the floor. According to her daughter, Taghavi also suffers from herniated discs, osteoporosis, diabetes, and high blood pressure. In July 2022, Taghavi was granted emergency medical leave to treat back and neck problems. However, she was sent back to Evin Prison four months later. Another fellow inmate at Evin Prison, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, warned in June 2023 that Taghavi's life was "in danger," saying she was in excruciating pain and "barely able to get out of bed."

Taghavi was granted two more medical furloughs in 2024. The first began in January and lasted for several weeks, but she was recalled to prison before completing her medical treatment. The second began at the end of September. During these periods, she had to wear an electronic ankle tag and had to remain within a 1-kilometer (less than a mile) radius of her home in Tehran. Amnesty International said that Taghavi flew back to Germany on Sunday. "Words cannot describe our joy," Taghavi's daughter said in another statement released by the human rights group on Monday, "At the same time, we are saddened by the four years that were stolen and the horrors she suffered in Evin Prison." Amnesty International has called on Iran to release dozens of other dual nationals and many other non-violent political prisoners, whom they say are being arbitrarily detained.

Taghavi's release comes months after the death of another imprisoned German-Iranian dual national, which sparked a diplomatic dispute between Berlin and Tehran. In late October, Baerbock ordered the closure of all three German consulates in Iran after Iranian state media reported that Jamshid Sharmahd, a dissident living in the United States who was sentenced to death in 2023 after what human rights groups called an unfair trial, had been executed. However, an Iranian judiciary spokesman claimed a few days later that Sharmahd had "died before the execution of the sentence." His family said she did not believe any claims made by Iranian authorities and called for an international investigation.