Close associates of Narges Mohammadi, the Iranian human rights activist, reported Sunday that Iran has sentenced her to seven and a half years in prison, following a week-long hunger strike she launched in protest over her conditions of detention. Her associates said Mohammadi’s health is “continuing to deteriorate.”
In 2023, while serving a prison sentence in Evin Prison in Tehran, Mohammadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Iran had sentenced her to 13 years and nine months in prison on charges of “conspiracy against the regime and spreading propaganda.” During her imprisonment, Mohammadi suffered several heart attacks before undergoing emergency surgery in 2022. In December 2024, she was released on medical grounds and underwent several surgeries. The release was initially granted for three weeks, but was repeatedly extended. After her release, Mohammadi continued protesting against the ayatollahs’ regime, including demonstrations outside the prison where she had been held.
In mid-December, even before the large-scale protests against the regime, the 53-year-old Mohammadi was arrested again. The arrest took place in Mashhad, during a memorial ceremony for Khosrow Alikordi, a lawyer and human rights activist. Alikordi was found dead in his office in December under mysterious circumstances. Officials claimed he died of a heart attack, but more than 80 lawyers signed a petition demanding further details about the circumstances of his death.
Mashhad prosecutor Hassan Hemmatifar told reporters that 38 people were arrested at Alikordi’s memorial. Among those detained were Mohammadi and Alikordi’s brother. According to the prosecutor, the two made provocative remarks at the memorial in Mashhad and encouraged those present to join their protest.
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Children of Narges Mohammadi accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf in 2023
(Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB / AFP)
Following her arrest, Mohammadi’s family said she spoke with them by phone from prison and told them she had been severely beaten during the arrest and taken to a hospital. Mohammadi told her family that she was accused of “cooperating with the government of Israel” and that she received death threats from security forces.
Mohammadi’s original prison sentence had not yet been completed, but her foundation said yesterday that Iran imposed an additional prison term following the circumstances of her December arrest, citing an illegal gathering. Her lawyer, Mostafa Nili, said she was sentenced to six years in prison for “assembly and conspiracy against national security,” and an additional one and a half years for “propaganda” against the Iranian regime. He added that the authorities also ruled that, upon her release, Mohammadi would be required to reside for two years in the city of Khaf, located 740 kilometers southeast of Tehran.
In a statement, the foundation said that, as an act of defiance against the ayatollahs’ regime and its judiciary, Mohammadi did not plead her innocence and made no statement after appearing before the judges. Mohammadi has not seen her twin children, who live in Paris, since 2015. “I am very worried about my mother. She must be released immediately, along with all political prisoners,” said her daughter, Kiana.
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Ervin Prison in tehran was bombed by Israel during Operation Rising Lion
(Photo: Mostafa Roudaki / Mizanonline / AFP)
Mohammadi’s sentencing comes against the backdrop of the mass protests that took place in Iran last month and were brutally suppressed by the regime—reports say thousands of protesters were killed and tens of thousands more arrested—while Iran and the United States are attempting to reach understandings regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
Reformists arrested: 'Supporters of the Zionist regime and US'
Meanwhile, the crackdown in Iran continues. Iranian media reported that three senior figures in the Reformist Front—an umbrella organization of reformist and moderate figures—have been arrested. Among them is Azar Mansouri, secretary-general of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, who also serves as head of the Reformist Front. At least two additional members of the organization were summoned to appear at the prosecutor’s office in Evin Prison in Tehran.
On Sunday, the Iranian judiciary’s website reported that “four important political figures who support the Zionist regime and the United States” had been arrested, without providing further details.