23/12/2022

UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issues Opinion calling on the release and compensation by Iran, of a dual national woman

Monica Feria-Tinta secured a decision by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention  (UNWGAD) in favour of Nahid Taghavi, a German/Iranian woman currently imprisoned in Evin prison.

The UNWGAD found the detention of Ms Taghavi, arbitrary, inter alia on the basis of procedural irregularities such as being arrested without a warrant, failure to inform her family about her arrest, the use of prolonged pretrial detention, the use of solitary confinement, the denial of consular contact and of legal representation and the holding of the trial behind closed doors, all revealing systematic  due process violations.

It requested the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran,

“103. …to take the steps necessary to remedy the situation of Ms. Taghavi without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international norms, including those set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

The Working Group further stated that, “taking into account all the circumstances of the case, the appropriate remedy would be to release Ms. Taghavi immediately and accord Ms. Taghavi an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law. In the current context of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the threat that it poses in places of detention, the Working Group calls upon the Government to take urgent action to ensure the immediate unconditional release of Ms. Taghavi.”

Monica acted in the case instructed by Ms Taghavi’s relatives.

Read the Opinion.