German-Iranian National Freed from Tehran Prison with Ankle Tag

January 10, 2024

2 min read

Nahid Taghavi, in her 60s, was arrested at her Tehran home in 2020, and accused of illegal propaganda activities and helping to lead a banned group – charges she denied

Iranian authorities have released a German-Iranian woman from prison under strict conditions comparable to "house arrest," her daughter says, amid concerns about her deteriorating health.

Taghavi, in her 60s, had been held at Tehran's Evin prison since October 2020 and placed in prolonged solitary confinement.

In August 2021, she was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in prison on charges of illegal propaganda activities and helping to lead a banned group – charges she denied -- following what Amnesty International called a "grossly unfair trial."

Western governments and rights groups have repeatedly accused the Islamic Republic of taking dual and foreign nationals hostage for the sole purpose of using them in prisoner swaps or as a bargaining chip in international negotiations.

In a statement on the social media platform X, Taghavi’s daughter Mariam Claren said her mother was "released temporarily" on January 9.

Taghavi “has to wear an electronic ankle tag during the furlough. Nahid's movement will be restricted [to] 1,000 meters from her apartment in Tehran," she wrote.

Breaking: My mother #NahidTaghavi was temporarily released from Evin prison on furlough with an electronic ankle tag. #freenahid pic.twitter.com/SGxl147laT
— Mariam Claren #FreeNahid (@mariam_claren) January 9, 2024

A senior official at Germany's Foreign Ministry welcomed Taghavi's release "on medical grounds" as "an important first step."

"We continue to work tirelessly to ensure that Nahid Taghavi is reunited with her family," Christian Buck wrote on X.

In June, fellow prisoner and prominent rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, said that Taghavi could barely get out of bed, and the pain was "so severe it can be seen on her face."

Mohammadi wrote on Instagram that Taghavi’s long spell in solitary confinement worsened an existing spinal disc condition, and she was now also suffering from cervical disc problems, diabetes and high blood pressure.

The prisoner was allowed brief medical leave in 2022, but her family said she was returned behind bars before she could recover.

Taghavi was convicted along with British-Iranian national Mehran Raoof, who is still being held.