Authorities in Iran have reportedly arrested 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi in a manner described as “violent.” The arrest is said to have taken place at a commemorative event for a lawyer and human rights advocate, her supporters state.
Circumstances Surrounding the Arrest
Mohammadi, who was granted temporary leave from prison on health reasons in December 2024, was detained along with several other activists at the ceremony for Khosro Alikordi. Alikordi was found dead in his office the previous week. Her Paris-based husband, Taghi Rahmani, stated the arrest occurred in the eastern city of Mashhad. A fellow prominent activist, Sepideh Gholian, was also taken into custody at the same event.
There has been no official statement from Iranian authorities regarding the arrest of the 53-year-old Mohammadi. Supporters had warned for months that she was at danger of being returned to prison. It is not yet known if she will be immediately returned to complete the rest of her sentence.
Context of the Memorial Ceremony
The ceremony was for Khosro Alikordi, who was discovered deceased recently. Officials in Razavi Khorasan province stated the cause as a heart attack. However, his death coincided with a tightening security crackdown, which has led to speculation. More than eighty lawyers have issued a demand calling for greater transparency.
“Alikordi was a prominent figure among Iran’s community of human rights defenders,” stated a international human rights organization. “Over the past several years, he had been detained multiple times, subjected to intimidation by security and judicial forces|state authorities.”
Mohammadi's Activities and Health Struggles
Video apparently from the ceremony showed Mohammadi at a microphone, addressing the gathered crowd without a head covering. She is said to have started chants of the name Majidreza Rahnavard, a man executed publicly by authorities in 2022.
Prior to her release last December, Mohammadi had been imprisoned since November 2021 on convictions related to her advocacy against capital punishment and Iran’s mandatory hijab law.
Her supporters state she suffered several cardiac episodes while imprisoned and underwent emergency surgery in 2022. In late 2024, her lawyer revealed doctors had identified a bone lesion feared to be cancerous, which was subsequently excised.
A History of Imprisonment and Advocacy
Mohammadi’s sentence was supposed to be three-week suspension, but her time out of prison lengthened, possibly due to calls by activists and international voices. She stayed free even during the brief conflict between Iran and Israel in June.
She continued her activism through public protests and interviews with global press, including a protest in front of Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, where she had been previously held.
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.
