The Norwegian Nobel Committee has urged Iran to immediately release Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, condemning what it described as her continued mistreatment in prison.
Mohammadi, 53, a prominent Iranian human rights activist, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while behind bars for her long-running campaign advocating women’s rights and the abolition of the death penalty in Iran. She has been imprisoned multiple times over the past three decades.
Last week, Mohammadi was sentenced to an additional seven-and-a-half years in prison, according to a support group. The Nobel Committee said it was drawing on “reliable and well-documented sources inside Iran” in raising alarm over her treatment.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the committee alleged that Mohammadi was violently arrested in December while attending the funeral of a human rights lawyer in the northeastern city of Mashhad. It further claimed she had been subjected to physical abuse and “ongoing life-threatening mistreatment.”
The committee described her treatment as cruel, inhuman, and degrading, and in violation of international human rights law.
“Mohammadi’s ordeal is yet another grim example of the brutal repression that has followed the mass protests in Iran, where countless women and men have risked their lives to demand freedom, equality, and basic human rights,” the statement said.
At the time of her December arrest, an Iranian prosecutor told reporters that Mohammadi had made provocative remarks during the memorial ceremony and encouraged attendees to chant what authorities described as “norm-breaking slogans” and to disturb public order.
Iranian authorities have consistently defended their actions against activists as enforcement of national laws, while rights groups accuse Tehran of suppressing dissent.
Mohammadi’s case has drawn widespread international attention, with supporters calling her a symbol of peaceful resistance and women’s rights in Iran.
