Nahid Taghavi, 66, was arrested at her Tehran apartment on October 16, according to a statement by the Germany-based International Society for Human Rights (IGFM). The Iran-born architect, who has held German citizenship since 2003, had her passport and German identity card confiscated and is being used as a “political bargaining chip,” according to the organisation.
Taghavi’s daughter Mariam Claren said there has been “no sign of life” from her mother for a week.
“No sign of life from my mother for 7 days! I demand clarification, I demand interference, I demand their release” she wrote on Twitter.
Claren said her mother is being held on security charges – accusations often brought against Iranians with dual citizenship.
“The verbally communicated accusation “endangering security” - In totalitarian regimes like Iran, this can be a synonym for everything. Neither her local family nor I as her daughter have access to her. Her medicines were refused. We do not receive any information, there is no sign of life from Nahid Taghavi,” Claren said in a Thursday Instagram post.
There are currently 10 dual nationals held in Iran, including British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and French-Iranian academic Fariba Abdelkhah. Families and friends have described their loved ones as “pawns” being used by Iran as leverage against foreign governments.
Taghavi is reportedly being held in solitary confinement in Evin prison, one of Iran’s most notorious facilities. Richard Ratcliffe, whose spouse spent four years in Evin prison, described her treatment from guards as a “sophisticated playbook of cruelty.”
Human Rights Watch said on Friday that prisoners are being punished for reporting abuse in detention.
“Punishing people reporting mistreatment in Iranian detention facilities shows a warped sense of justice,” said Tara Sepehri Far, Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch.
