Iran Arrests Nobel Peace Winner Narges Mohammadi

Iranian security forces detained 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi along with at least eight other activists during a memorial ceremony in Mashhad, prompting international condemnation. The arrests occurred at the ceremony for lawyer Khosrow Alikordi, who was found dead last week under circumstances that have raised suspicions of state involvement.

Mohammadi, who had been temporarily released from prison in December 2024 for health reasons, was reportedly beaten and dragged by her hair, according to her family. Fellow activist Sepideh Gholian, previously jailed with Mohammadi in Tehran’s Evin prison, was also among those arrested.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee called the arrests “brutal” and urged Iran to immediately disclose Mohammadi’s whereabouts. Observers noted the timing coincided with the Oslo ceremony for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, highlighting close ties between the Iranian and Venezuelan regimes.

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Videos from the memorial show Mohammadi encouraging mourners to chant slogans including “Death to the dictator” and “We fight, we die, we accept no humiliation.” Authorities claimed arrests were due to slogans “contrary to public norms.”

Mohammadi, 53, has spent much of the past decade in prison and has not seen her twin children, who accepted her Nobel Prize on her behalf in 2023, for 11 years. Her temporary release last year was due to severe health complications. Human rights groups warned that the repeated arrests could endanger her physical and psychological well-being.

Rights activists say Mohammadi’s arrest reflects the Iranian government’s fear of dissent and the courage of Iranians challenging the regime. She has long predicted the eventual downfall of Iran’s clerical system, which has ruled since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.