Amnesty International and Nahid Taghavi's family have confirmed that she has been released from an Iranian prison. The women’s rights activist had been serving a sentence of more than 10 years for "propaganda against the state."

Women’s rights activist Nahid Taghavi returned to Germany on Sunday night after spending over four years in custody in Iran, her family and Amnesty International confirmed on Monday morning.

Amnesty reported that during her time in detention, Taghavi endured torture and solitary confinement, spending more than 1,500 days in prison in Iran. Taghavi's daughter, Mariam Claren, shared the news online, expressing immense relief. “It’s over. Nahid is free! After more than four years as a political prisoner in the Islamic Republic of Iran, my mother Nahid Taghavi was freed and is back in Germany,” Claren wrote, sharing a photo of herself with her mother at an airport.

Taghavi was arrested in October 2020 while visiting Iran. In August 2021, she was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for spreading “propaganda” and for being a member of an illegal group.

Claren, who had been campaigning for her mother’s release from Germany, expressed her joy on Monday. “My mother is finally home. Mere words can't describe our joy. From Berlin to Tehran: your solidarity helped to achieve justice,” she said.

In Germany alone, over 30,000 people signed petitions demanding Taghavi’s release, and protests were held in cities such as Berlin and Cologne. However, Claren reminded the public that her mother’s case is not unique. “Many more non-violent political prisoners like my mother are still in Iranian jails,” she said. “The impunity of the Iranian authorities must come to an end.”

Taghavi, an architect who had been living in Cologne since 1983, was an outspoken advocate for democratic and women’s rights in Iran. The speaker of the Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, had previously called for her release, emphasizing that Taghavi was arrested solely because of her peaceful exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

Last week, Switzerland and France summoned Iranian officials to protest the imprisonment of their nationals in Iran, following the reported “suicide” of a Swiss citizen in Iranian custody. In the days prior, Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, another prominent prisoner, was released from Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, where Taghavi had also been held.

Late last year, the fate of Jamshid Sharmahd, a German-Iranian US resident, also captured significant attention. Initially, Iran claimed that Sharmahd had been executed, which led to consulate closures and international protests. A week later, Iranian authorities revised their statement, revealing that Sharmahd had died just before a scheduled execution.