Mother of Atena Daemi: They didn’t even let me hug my own daughter

Masoume Ne’mati, the mother of jailed civil and child rights activist Atena Daemi, spoke about the pressures and harassment imposed on her by security agents. She described the scene that she witnessed as: “On Saturday, July 4th Atena’s father, sisters and I were at the clinic where they had brought Atena from prison. She was transferred under very harsh conditions that are unimaginable for any mother and father. Atena was handcuffed along with two security agents. When I wanted to hug her they hit me very hard and shoved me back.
“Atena was quickly taken to a physician, as ordered by the clinic authorities, but they didn’t even open the handcuffs from my daughter in the doctor’s room. This raised protests from the physician. After the initial checkup the physician ordered an exam but the agents didn’t allow any such measures and returned Atena back to prison.”
Atena Daemi is a 27-year old activist who was arrested on October 21, 2014 by plainclothes agents while at her father’s home. She was then transferred to ward 2A of the Revolutionary Guards in Evin Prison . She was placed under constant interrogation and solitary confinement until 12 May 2015 when she was sentenced to 14 years behind bars. The charges raised against her were “assembly & collusion against the state, gatherings against executions such as protesting the execution of Reyhane Jabbari, and insulting the leader and the sanctuaries.”