Narges Mohammadi, the Iranian human rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, has been temporarily released from prison on medical grounds. The 54-year-old activist, who has endured nearly two decades of intermittent incarceration, was moved from a prison in Zanjan to a hospital in Tehran on Sunday.
This development follows intense international pressure and urgent warnings from her family, who revealed that her life was at serious risk after she reportedly suffered two suspected heart attacks while imprisoned. Her health had deteriorated to such an extent that prison medical staff could no longer provide adequate care.
The Narges Mohammadi Foundation confirmed that she was granted a “sentence suspension on heavy bail” due to her critical condition. She was transported by ambulance to Tehran Pars Hospital, where she is now receiving treatment from her personal medical team.
Supporters have described her recent weeks in Zanjan prison, located northwest of Tehran, as harrowing. Legal representatives noted that Mohammadi has lost around 20 kilograms (approximately three stone) and is nearly unrecognizable compared to her condition before her December arrest.
Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, who resides in Paris, emphasized that while the hospital transfer was necessary, it remains only a temporary solution given the severity of her “catastrophic health failure.”
Mohammadi was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 in recognition of her relentless efforts against the oppression of women in Iran and her broader fight for human rights and freedom. Despite this international recognition, she has remained imprisoned, with 18 years still left on her sentence.
Her most recent detention followed her public criticism of Iranian authorities during a memorial for a human rights lawyer late last year. Her foundation and family have renewed calls for her unconditional release, warning that returning her to prison would effectively be a “death sentence.” They also allege she endured “systematic medical neglect” for 140 days prior to her release on bail.
As Mohammadi begins receiving hospital care in Tehran, human rights organizations around the world are closely monitoring her situation and advocating for all charges against her to be permanently dropped.
