{"id":8702,"date":"2025-12-12T10:41:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T18:41:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iranreport.org\/?p=8702"},"modified":"2025-12-12T10:41:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T18:41:48","slug":"iran-arrests-nobel-peace-prize-laureate-narges-mohammadi-supporters-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iranreport.org\/?p=8702","title":{"rendered":"Iran arrests Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, supporters say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 Iran has arrested Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi<\/a>, her supporters said Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A foundation in her name said she was detained in Mashhad, some 680 kilometers (420 miles) northeast of the capital, Tehran, while attending a memorial for a human rights lawyer recently found dead under unclear circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A local official reportedly acknowledged arrests had been made, but did not directly name Mohammadi, 53. It wasn\u2019t clear if authorities would immediately return her to prison, where she had been serving a sentence until her temporary release in December 2024 for medical purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, her detention comes as Iran has been cracking down on intellectuals and others as Tehran struggles with sanctions, an ailing economy and the fear of a renewed war with Israel. Arresting Mohammadi may spark increased pressure from the West at a time when Iran repeatedly signals it wants new negotiations with the United States over its nuclear program \u2014 something that has yet to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activist detained at ceremony for dead lawyer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Her supporters on Friday described her as having been \u201cviolently detained earlier today by security and police forces.\u201d They said other activists had been arrested as well at a ceremony honoring Khosrow Alikordi, a 46-year-old Iranian lawyer and human rights advocate who had been based in Mashhad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Narges Foundation calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all detained individuals who were attending a memorial ceremony to pay their respects and demonstrate solidarity,\u201d a statement read. \u201cTheir arrest constitutes a serious violation of fundamental freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alikordi was found dead earlier this month in his office, with provincial officials in describing his death as a heart attack. However, a tightening security crackdown coincided with his death, raising questions. Over 80 lawyers signed a statement demanding more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we witnessed today is the Islamic Republic\u2019s latest assault on the most basic human freedoms \u2014 where even mourning a slain lawyer becomes a punishable act,\u201d said Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen peaceful citizens cannot mourn without being beaten and dragged away, it reveals a government terrified of truth and accountability. It also reveals the extraordinary bravery of Iranians who refuse to surrender their dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footage purportedly of the ceremony showed Mohammadi with a microphone, calling out to the crowd gathered without wearing a hijab, or headscarf. She started the crowd chanting the name Majidreza Rahnavard, a man whom authorities hanged from a crane in a public execution in 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footage published by her foundation also showed her without a hijab, surrounded by a large crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hasan Hosseini, the city governor of Mashhad, said prosecutors ordered security officials to temporarily detain a number of participants at the ceremony after the chanting of \u201cnorm-breaking\u201d slogans, Iranian state television reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hosseini described the detentions as preventive to protect those there from others in the crowd, but did not address claims that security forces used violence in making the arrests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other anti-government chants could be heard in purported video footage of the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohammadi had been on furlough for months<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Supporters had warned for months that Mohammadi was at risk of being put back into prison after she received a furlough in December 2024 over medical concerns<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While that was to be only three weeks, Mohammadi\u2019s time out of prison lengthened, possibly as activists and Western powers pushed Iran to keep her free. She remained out even during the 12-day war in June between Iran and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohammadi still kept up her activism with public protests and international media appearances, including even demonstrating at one point in front of Tehran\u2019s notorious Evin prison, where she had been held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohammadi had been serving 13 years and nine months on charges of collusion against state security and propaganda against Iran\u2019s government. She also had backed the nationwide protests sparked by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini<\/a>, which have seen women openly defy the government by not wearing the hijab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohammadi suffered multiple heart attacks while imprisoned before undergoing emergency surgery in 2022, her supporters say. Her lawyer in late 2024 revealed doctors had found a bone lesion that they feared could be cancerous that later was removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMohammadi\u2019s doctors recently prescribed an extension of her medical leave for at least six more months to conduct thorough and regular medical examinations, including monitoring the bone lesion which was removed from her leg in November, physiotherapy sessions to recover from the surgery and specialized cardiac care,\u201d the Free Narges Coalition said in late February 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe medical team overseeing Mohammadi\u2019s health has warned that her return to prison \u2014 especially under stressful conditions of detention and without adequate medical facilities \u2014 could severely worsen her physical well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 Iran has arrested Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, her supporters said Friday. A foundation in her name said she was detained in Mashhad, some<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[108],"tags":[124],"class_list":["post-8702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rights-watch","tag-featured-small"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranreport.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranreport.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranreport.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranreport.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranreport.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8702"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/iranreport.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8704,"href":"https:\/\/iranreport.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8702\/revisions\/8704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranreport.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranreport.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranreport.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranreport.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}