The family of imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi is sounding the alarm over her rapidly deteriorating health, revealing she recently suffered what is believed to be a heart attack inside a north-western Iranian prison.
The 53-year-old human rights activist was reportedly discovered unconscious in her cell at Zanjan Prison last week. According to the Free Narges Coalition, her cellmates found her unresponsive with her eyes rolled back—a terrifying state that lasted for over an hour.
Despite being carried to the facility's infirmary and revived with medication, prison authorities have categorically refused to transfer Mohammadi to a civilian hospital or permit an evaluation by a medical specialist. This denial comes despite her well-documented history of severe pulmonary and cardiac issues, as well as dangerous blood pressure fluctuations.
Hamidreza Mohammadi, the laureate's brother who currently resides in Norway, has expressed profound fear that his sister's life hangs in the balance. He is urgently calling for her immediate medical furlough so she can undergo a comprehensive examination.
"We know her medical history, we know that she has heart problems and pulmonary problems. She must be in a hospital," Hamidreza said, noting that her family and children are living in agonizing uncertainty over whether she will survive.
Compounding the peril of her imprisonment is the ongoing regional warfare. Hamidreza pointed out that strikes and explosions near the prison, stemming from the ongoing conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States, have severely exacerbated his sister's stress. He argued that Iranian law permits the release of non-violent prisoners during wartime if their safety cannot be assured. Instead, he claims, authorities are weaponizing the conflict as a pretext to entirely cut off medical care for political detainees.
Mohammadi, who was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her relentless fight against the systemic oppression of women in Iran, has spent more than a decade behind bars. After receiving a brief medical release from Tehran's infamous Evin prison in December 2024, she was violently rearrested in Mashhad while attending a memorial ceremony. Supporters state she sustained beatings to her head and neck during the apprehension, leaving her with lingering bruises, double vision, and debilitating nausea.
In early February, an Iranian Revolutionary Court handed her an additional seven-and-a-half-year sentence for alleged "propaganda" and "collusion." She was abruptly transferred to Zanjan prison shortly thereafter and stripped of regular communication with the outside world. During a heavily monitored visitation last Sunday, her legal team and family described her as pale, extremely weak, and suffering from significant weight loss, painting a grim picture of a global human rights icon fighting for her life in state custody.