Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi is reported to be in “deteriorating health” after ending a nearly week-long hunger strike, her supporters said on Sunday, as authorities handed her a fresh prison sentence.
Mohammadi, who received the peace prize in 2023, has spent the past two months in prison following her arrest in Mashhad in December for speaking out against the government at a funeral ceremony.
On Saturday, she was sentenced to six years in prison for harming national security and an additional 18 months for “propaganda against Iran’s Islamic system”, her foundation said.
The foundation added that Mohammadi did not offer any defence or statement during her hearing, viewing the judiciary as illegitimate. Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, based in Paris, said:
“Narges offered no defence, steadfast in her belief that this judiciary holds no legitimacy. She views these proceedings as a mere charade with a predetermined end.”
Mohammadi’s punishments also include two years’ exile to Khosf, a city in the eastern province of South Khorasan, her Iranian lawyer Mostafa Nili confirmed. Mohammadi revealed the sentence in a phone call with Nili, only her second contact with the outside world since her December arrest.
Hunger strike and health concerns
Mohammadi began a hunger strike on 2 February to protest prison conditions and her inability to contact lawyers or family. The foundation reported that she ended the strike on its sixth day, with her physical condition described as “deeply alarming”.
She was reportedly transferred to hospital three days ago due to her deteriorating health but returned to the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention centre in Mashhad before completing treatment. The foundation said:
“Her continued detention is life-threatening and a violation of human rights laws.”
Family and activism
Mohammadi, 53, has been repeatedly tried and jailed over the past 25 years for her campaigning against Iran’s use of capital punishment and the mandatory dress code for women. She has spent much of the past decade in prison and has not seen her twin children, who live in Paris, since 2015.
Her daughter Kiana said:
“I am gravely concerned for my mom. She, along with all political prisoners in Iran, must be released immediately.”
Mohammadi was a prominent supporter of the 2022–2023 protests sparked by the death of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in custody and has repeatedly criticised Iran’s clerical system.
Iranian authorities have arrested more than 50,000 people as part of their crackdown on nationwide protests, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
