Imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner in critical condition
NPR • • general
Key Points:
- Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, serving an 18-year prison sentence, has been hospitalized in critical condition after collapsing in jail due to chronic heart and other health issues.
- Mohammadi was moved to intensive care in Zanjan, but despite medical advice and requests from her family and lawyer, authorities have refused to transfer her to specialist care in Tehran.
- Previously, Mohammadi suffered a heart attack in prison in March 2025 but was denied hospital treatment by government authorities; she was also re-arrested in December 2025 after speaking out against the regime.
- Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for her activism on women's rights and against torture and the death penalty in Iran, Mohammadi has faced multiple arrests, convictions, and harsh prison sentences totaling decades.
- Mohammadi has been a key figure in Iran's "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement and notably resisted mandatory hijab rules even while hospitalized, leading to a hunger strike that secured her heart surgery.
