Narges Mohammadi
In July 2011 she was taken to court again and found guilty of "acting against the national security, membership of the DHRC and propaganda against the [government]." In September 2011 she was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment. She said that she was told of the court's decision only by her lawyers. She had been "given an unprecedented (never before used) 23-page judgement (sentencing decision) issued by the court in which they repeatedly likened my human rights activities to attempts to topple the regime." In March 2012, the sentence was reduced to six years by an appeals court. On 26 April, she was arrested to begin her sentence. The sentence was protested by the British Foreign Office, which called it "another sad example of the Iranian authorities' attempts to silence brave human rights defenders." In July 2012, an international group of lawmakers called for her release, including US Senator Mark Kirk, former Canadian Attorney General Irwin Cotler, UK MP Denis MacShane, Australian MP Michael Danby, Italian MP Fiamma Nirenstein, and Lithuanian MP Emanuelis Zingeris. On 31 July 2012, Mohammadi was released from prison.