Iran sentences imprisoned Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi to additional prison term
Dubai, Jan 15: A court in Iran has slapped imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi with an additional sentence of 15 months for allegedly spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic, her family said Monday.
According to a post on Instagram by Mohammadi's family, the new sentence was handed down on Dec 19. It said Mohammadi had refused to attend the court sessions.
The verdict also said that after serving her time, Mohammadi would be banned from travelling abroad for two years and would be barred from membership in political and social groups and from having a mobile phone for the same duration.
The ruling also banishes her from the capital, Tehran, meaning she would likely have to serve the new sentence in another province in Iran. Mohammadi is held in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison where she is serving a 30-month sentence for spreading propaganda against the ruling system, disobediences in prison and defamation of authorities.
The latest verdict reflects the Iranian theocracy's anger that she was awarded the Nobel prize last October for years of activism despite a decadeslong government campaign targeting her.
Mohammadi is the 19th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the second Iranian woman after human rights activist Shirin Ebadi in 2003. The 51-year-old Mohammadi has kept up her activism despite numerous arrests by Iranian authorities and spending years behind bars.
Earlier in November, Mohammadi went on hunger strike over being blocked along with other inmates from getting medical care and to protest the country's mandatory headscarves for women.
Mohammadi was a leading light for nationwide, women-led protests sparked by the death last year of a 22-year-old woman in police custody that have grown into one of the most intense challenges to Iran's theocratic government. That woman, Mahsa Amini, had been detained for allegedly not wearing her headscarf to the liking of authorities.
For observant Muslim women, the head covering is a sign of piety before God and modesty in front of men outside their families. In Iran, the hijab - and the all-encompassing black chador worn by some - has long been a political symbol as well, particularly after becoming mandatory in the years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
While women in Iran hold jobs, academic positions and even government appointments, their lives are tightly controlled in part by laws like the mandatory hijab. Iran and neighbouring, Taliban-ruled Afghanistan remain the only countries to mandate that. Since Amini's death, however, more women are choosing not to wear the headscarf despite an increasing campaign by authorities targeting them and businesses serving them.
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Nothing wrong in MLAs aspiring for ministerial position: K'taka HM Parameshwara
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Bengaluru (PTI): Amid a group of ruling Congress MLAs camping in Delhi with a cabinet rejig demand for their inclusion, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday said there was nothing wrong in legislators aspiring for ministerial positions.
He asserted that experienced MLAs were capable of handling such responsibilities.
His remarks came a day after senior and first-time MLAs stepped up lobbying efforts in the national capital with the party high command, seeking a cabinet reshuffle and greater representation.
"There is nothing wrong in them asking for it (ministerial position)," Parameshwara, a senior Congress leader, said
He added that the MLAs, some of who have been elected thrice, are capable to take up the ministerial positions.
He maintained that the final call on any cabinet reshuffle rests with the party high command.
"Our Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah), the high command, and our party (state) president (DK Shivakumar) decide about reshuffle. These three sit together and take a decision," he said.
The minister also indicated that the established procedure for cabinet formation was likely being followed.
"Earlier too, when I was the (state Congress) president, during cabinet formation, the Pradesh Congress Committee president, the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader, and our in-charge general secretaries would take decisions that would then be presented before our AICC president, approval would be obtained, and then it would be announced," he said.
He added that even today the same procedure is followed.
Responding to questions on whether senior ministers would make way for newcomers, Parameshwara said they would abide by the party's decision.
"If the high command decides then we have to accept it. There is no question of not accepting it," he said.
Stressing on party discipline, he added, "Whether it is me, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, or Energy Minister K J George, we all are seniors. If they (high command) decide that we should be replaced and make changes, then there is no question of us opposing it."
Clarifying that discussions were limited to a possible cabinet reshuffle, he said decisions on leadership matters were entirely in the hands of the high command.
He said the discussions were limited only to the Cabinet rejig and not changing the party state president, a post being held by Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar for the past six years.
"Right now we are discussing cabinet reshuffle, not about the party president. All such matters are left to the high command," he said.
Recalling his own appointment as state Congress president in the past, Parameshwara said he had not lobbied for the post. "When I was made president, I did not lobby for it. Our leader Sonia Gandhi took the decision. It came as a surprise to me. I had not asked for it," he said.
On Sunday, several senior MLAs travelled to Delhi to press for a cabinet reshuffle, while first-time legislators renewed their demand for representation, seeking at least five berths in the Siddaramaiah-led ministry.
The push for a rejig comes amid internal rumblings within the ruling party and speculation over leadership issues, even as the high command is yet to take a final call.
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