Calls grow over hospital care for jailed Iranian Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi
Key Points:
- Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Iranian human rights campaigner, has experienced a severe deterioration in health while imprisoned, prompting calls from her family and the Nobel Committee for her transfer to adequate medical facilities.
- Despite her critical condition, including low blood pressure and a suspected heart attack, prison officials initially refused to hospitalize her, leading to a delayed transfer to a local hospital in Zanjan province after 140 days of detention without specialized healthcare.
- Mohammadi's brother and the Nobel Committee have urged authorities to move her to a Tehran hospital where her previous specialists can provide proper treatment, citing her complex medical history including cardiac and pulmonary issues.
- Over her life, Mohammadi has been arrested 13 times and sentenced to 31 years in prison and 154 lashes; she was serving a 13-year sentence since 2021 for charges she denies, and was temporarily released on medical grounds in December 2024 before being re-arrested last December.
- Her family reports she was beaten during her most recent arrest in Mashhad after a human rights speech, and her current condition remains life-threatening amid ongoing concerns about her treatment in custody.