Nobel laureate's health crisis deepens in Iranian prison

Narges Mohammadi, the 54-year-old 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner, has been transferred to a hospital in Zanjan province after what her family describes as a catastrophic health collapse during her imprisonment in north-western Iran.

The human rights campaigner was moved to medical facilities following 140 days in detention without adequate specialized care, her family foundation announced Friday. Her brother Hamidreza, currently in Norway, told the BBC he wakes daily “waiting for the worst call” he could receive, expressing grave fears about her survival.

Mohammadi experienced a suspected heart attack in prison last month, discovered unconscious by fellow inmates. Prison officials reportedly refused hospital transfer despite her documented cardiac complications, pulmonary embolism history, and previous stenting procedures. Her brother emphasized that medical treatment in Zanjan is inadequate given her complex medical background, calling for immediate transfer to Tehran where her own specialists could assume her care.

The Nobel Peace Prize Committee’s head, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, has publicly stated that Mohammadi’s life faces serious risk. Her brother leveled direct accusations that Iranian authorities deliberately deny medical support to activists like his sister, suggesting a deliberate policy rather than negligence.

Mohammadi’s cycle of arrests and legal persecution spans her entire activism career. She has been detained 13 times and faces a cumulative 31-year sentence plus 154 lashes on charges she denies. Her most recent arrest occurred in December after delivering a speech at a human rights memorial in Mashhad, during which she was reportedly beaten. A Revolutionary Court subsequently handed down an additional seven-and-a-half-year sentence in February on allegations of “gathering and collusion” and propaganda activities.

Transferred without warning to Zanjan prison that same month, she has been largely isolated from family contact since. Her brother criticized international media and political attention as insufficient, suggesting geopolitical concerns like oil trade routes have overshadowed the imprisonment crisis. Iranian authorities have declined public comment on the family’s medical claims or broader allegations of mistreatment.