The Office of the US Special Envoy for Iran has denounced the recent sentencing of Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi to an additional 15 months in prison.

Deputy Special Envoy Abram Paley called for her unconditional release, emphasizing the need to end the Iranian regime's oppressive campaign against critics and human rights activists, including Mohammadi.

“The Iranian regime’s campaign to silence critics and human rights activists, including Ms. Mohammadi, must stop,” he wrote in an X message on Wednesday.

The statement coincides with the one-year anniversary of the Without Just Cause initiative launched by the US State Department, a campaign aimed at raising awareness about political prisoners around the world.

Narges Mohammadi, a prominent Iranian activist, has faced multiple detentions since 1998. Despite legal challenges, she continues her unwavering commitment to civic activism, advocating for human rights and gender equality. Mohammadi recently appeared before the Evin District Security Court on the fifth case initiated against her in the past six months by the Ministry of Intelligence.

Facing a sentence of nine years and eight months with 154 lashes and additional penalties, Mohammadi rejects the legitimacy of the government and its court verdicts. The charges against her, based on politically motivated "national security" claims, exemplify a broader pattern of the Iranian regime imprisoning non-violent political activists, human rights defenders, and individuals from religious and ethnic minority groups.

Human rights organizations report that the Iranian authorities arrested approximately 20,000 people following peaceful protests in September 2022, triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police.