A day after Iranian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was hospitalized after her condition worsened, the head of Norway’s Nobel committee said on Saturday that her life was in the hands of Iranian authorities.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee called on Mohammadi to be released to her specialist medical team, Reuters reported.
Read also | Human rights groups condemn Iran’s re-arrest of Nobel laureate Mohammadi
She was transferred from prison to hospital on Friday after a “catastrophic deterioration in her health, including two episodes of complete loss of consciousness and a severe cardiac crisis,” a foundation run by her family said.
Read also | Why did Iran extend Nobel laureate Nargesi Mohammadi’s prison term?
The Narges Mohammadi Foundation noted that her transfer was “an unavoidable necessity after prison doctors determined that her condition could not be managed on site”.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee appeals to the Iranian authorities
Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awards the Nobel Peace Prize, on Saturday appealed to Iranian authorities to release Mohammadi to her specialist medical team for urgent treatment because her life is at risk.
Frydnes noted that Mohammadi is only imprisoned for her peaceful human rights work in the country and now her life is in the hands of the Iranian authorities.
Mohammadi’s health is deteriorating
On Friday, the Nobel laureate, 53, passed out after days of dangerously high blood pressure and severe nausea, the foundation said. After several bouts of vomiting, she passed out and was transferred to the prison’s medical unit for emergency IV fluids.
Read also | ‘Biased and political’: Iran condemns Nobel Peace Prize for Narges Mohammadi
According to an update shared by her foundation, Mohammadi remained in an unstable condition and was receiving oxygen. The foundation called for her to be transferred to a hospital in Tehran for tests and specialized treatment.
In early March, Mohammadi also reportedly suffered a heart attack, according to her lawyers, who visited her days after the incident. Al Jazeera reported that at the time she appeared pale, was underweight and needed a nurse to help her walk.
Why was Mohammadi arrested?
Mohammadi has been in prison since December 12 after she was arrested during a visit to the eastern city of Mashhad while attending a memorial service. Her team said she was arrested during an event honoring a human rights lawyer who recently died under mysterious circumstances.
She was sentenced to a new prison term of seven and a half years, her foundation said earlier in February, weeks before the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran. At the time, the Nobel Committee called on Iran to release her immediately. Her lawyer said six years of that sentence was for charges of “gathering and colluding to commit crimes”.
Her supporters described Mohammadi as being “forcefully detained by security and police forces earlier today”, adding that several other activists were also taken into custody.
Before her arrest in December, Mohammadi was already serving a prison sentence of 13 years and nine months on charges of collusion against state security and propaganda against the government of the Islamic Republic. However, she was put on leave from the end of 2024 due to health concerns.
Trained as an engineer, Mohammadi has been arrested 13 times and convicted five times, with sentences totaling more than 30 years. Her most recent incarceration began in 2021 after she attended a memorial for protesters killed during nationwide unrest.
Mohammadi’s arrest in December came as Iranian authorities cracked down on activists and civil society leaders as the Islamic Republic faced sanctions, economic pressures and heightened regional tensions.
Key things
- Narges Mohammadi’s health deteriorated significantly, requiring immediate medical attention.
- Her imprisonment is linked to her human rights activism in Iran and highlights the risks dissidents face.
- Calls by international bodies such as the Nobel Committee highlight the global concern for Mohammadi’s well-being and the wider implications for human rights in Iran.
