The European Union has decried a recent sentence for leading human rights campaigner Narges Mohammadi to eight years in prison and over 70 lashes.

In a statement on Sunday, the EU also expressed concern over her poor health, stressing that enforcing the sentence “is against the universal principles of human rights and the rule of law”.

“The EU calls on Iran to comply with its obligations under international law and urgently release Ms. Mohammadi, taking also into account her deteriorating health condition,” a spokesperson said.

On Friday, Human Rights Watch also slammedher arrest, saying that the Islamic Republic is committed to crush any grassroots effort to protect human rights and urged world powers to press Tehran to stop the crackdown.

The rights group said that the recent heavy sentence meted out against Mohammadi shows that Iran’s revolutionary courts are criminalizing human rights activism.

On January 15, Branch 26 of Tehran’s revolutionary court gave her the harsh sentence in a five-minute summary trial that was held behind closed doors while she was denied access to a lawyer.

In a letter from the notorious Gharchak (Qarchak) Prison, obtained by Iran International, Mohammadi said the court stated her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize as evidence of her criminality.

Mohammadi was arrested in mid-November at the death anniversary of a citizen, Ebrahim Ketabdar, who was shot dead by security forces during the November 2019 protests.