German-Iranian Women’s Rights Activist Released from Iranian Prison

09 January 2024, Iran, Tehran: German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi sits on a couch after her temporary release from the notorious Ewin prison in Tehran. (dpa)
09 January 2024, Iran, Tehran: German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi sits on a couch after her temporary release from the notorious Ewin prison in Tehran. (dpa)
TT

German-Iranian Women’s Rights Activist Released from Iranian Prison

09 January 2024, Iran, Tehran: German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi sits on a couch after her temporary release from the notorious Ewin prison in Tehran. (dpa)
09 January 2024, Iran, Tehran: German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi sits on a couch after her temporary release from the notorious Ewin prison in Tehran. (dpa)

Nahid Taghavi, an Iranian-German women's rights activist, has been released from prison and is back in Germany after more than four years incarceration in Iran, Amnesty International said on Monday.

The release of Taghavi followed concerns about the 70-year-old's health and calls from rights groups on the German government to pressure Tehran on the case.

Taghavi was detained in October 2020 during a visit to Tehran and later sentenced to 10 years and eight months in prison for her alleged involvement in an illegal group and for propaganda against the state. Amnesty called the charges fabricated

"My mum is finally home. Words are not enough to describe our joy. At the same time, we mourn the four years we were robbed of and the horror she experienced in Evin prison," her daughter Mariam Claren said in a statement.

The rights group said Taghavi was tortured during her time in prison and held in solitary confinement.

The activist landed safely in Germany on Sunday, Amnesty said, calling for many more releases to follow in Iran.

Iran's judiciary was not immediately available for comment.

"A great moment of joy that Nahid Taghavi can finally embrace her family again," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a post on X.

Germany has clashed with Iran in the past over its jailing of dual citizens and criticized its human rights record. In October, Berlin recalled its ambassador to Iran over the execution of German-Iranian national Jamshid Sharmahd.

Last week Iran freed Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, three weeks after she was detained in Tehran during a reporting trip.



US Will Not Send Troops to Ukraine, Pentagon Chief Hegseth Says

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth talks to the media during his visit to the headquarters of US European Command and Africa Command at the Africa Command at Kelly Barracks in Stuttgart Germany, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth talks to the media during his visit to the headquarters of US European Command and Africa Command at the Africa Command at Kelly Barracks in Stuttgart Germany, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
TT

US Will Not Send Troops to Ukraine, Pentagon Chief Hegseth Says

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth talks to the media during his visit to the headquarters of US European Command and Africa Command at the Africa Command at Kelly Barracks in Stuttgart Germany, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth talks to the media during his visit to the headquarters of US European Command and Africa Command at the Africa Command at Kelly Barracks in Stuttgart Germany, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)

President Donald Trump's administration is not sending US troops into Ukraine, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday.

Speaking with reporters in Germany, Hegseth also said that he would push European allies to spend more on defense when he meets with them this week.

"The European continent deserves to be free from any aggression, but it ought be those in the neighborhood investing the most in that individual and collective defense," Hegseth said.