Peace Prize Winner Narges Mohammadi Reportedly Arrested in Iran, According to Advocates
Iranian security forces have reportedly arrested 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi in a what supporters call “violent.” Her detention is said to have taken place at a memorial ceremony for a lawyer and human rights advocate, her supporters state.
Circumstances Surrounding the Detention
Mohammadi, who was granted temporary leave from prison on medical grounds in December 2024, was detained along with a number of fellow advocates at the gathering for Khosro Alikordi. Alikordi was found dead in his office last week. Her Paris-based husband, Taghi Rahmani, stated the arrest occurred in the eastern city of Mashhad. Another prominent activist, Sepideh Gholian, was also taken into custody at the same event.
There has been no immediate comment from Iranian authorities regarding the detention of the 53-year-old Mohammadi. Supporters had warned for months that she was at danger of being returned to prison. It is currently unclear if she will be sent back to serve the remainder of her sentence.
Context of the Memorial Ceremony
The ceremony was for Khosro Alikordi, who was discovered deceased recently. Authorities from Razavi Khorasan province described his death as a heart attack. However, his death coincided with a heightened security clampdown, which has led to speculation. More than eighty lawyers have issued a demand calling for greater transparency.
“Alikordi was a leading voice among Iran’s community of human rights defenders,” stated a New York-based human rights organization. “Over the past several years, he had been detained multiple times, subjected to intimidation by security and judicial forces|state authorities.”
The Activist's Recent Actions and Health Struggles
Footage purportedly from the ceremony showed Mohammadi at a microphone, speaking to the assembly without a head covering. She is said to have started chants of the name Majidreza Rahnavard, a man publicly hanged by authorities in 2022.
Prior to her medical leave, Mohammadi had been incarcerated from November 2021 on convictions related to her campaigning against capital punishment and Iran’s mandatory hijab law.
Her advocates report she suffered several cardiac episodes while imprisoned and underwent an urgent operation in 2022. In late 2024, her lawyer revealed doctors had discovered a bone lesion feared to be cancerous, which was subsequently excised.
A History of Activism and Incarceration
Mohammadi’s sentence was supposed to be three-week suspension, but her time free lengthened, possibly due to pressure from activists and international voices. She remained out even during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.
She maintained her advocacy through public protests and interviews with global press, including a protest in front of Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, where she had been formerly incarcerated.
An engineer by training, Mohammadi has been imprisoned 13 times and convicted five times. In total, she has been given over 30 years in prison.
