Relatives of jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi and the Nobel committee are urgently calling for her transfer to a specialized medical facility after a sharp decline in her health, which her family says may be life-threatening.
On Friday, the 54-year-old human rights activist was moved from Zanjan Prison to a local hospital, but her brother Hamidreza Mohammadi described the action as a "last-minute" measure that might be too late. Speaking to the BBC on Saturday, he said, "Her blood pressure has dropped sharply, and they haven't been able to stabilise it."
Mohammadi, awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy for women's rights and against the oppression of women in Iran, was arrested in December 2024 after criticizing authorities. Last month, she was found unconscious by fellow inmates following a suspected heart attack, yet prison officials initially refused hospital care despite her history of cardiac, lung, and blood pressure issues.
Her brother stressed that her complex medical conditions, including a prior pulmonary embolism and stenting, require treatment by specialists in Tehran who are familiar with her case. The Nobel Peace Prize committee head, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, echoed the call, stating that her life remains at risk.
Mohammadi has been arrested 13 times over her lifetime and sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison, including a current 13-year term for "propaganda activity against the state." In December 2024, she was temporarily released on medical grounds but was rearrested after speaking at a memorial for a fellow activist. She was beaten during that arrest, her family said, and later sentenced to an additional seven and a half years by a Revolutionary Court. She was transferred to Zanjan Prison without warning and has had limited contact with her family since.