Iran Sentences Nobel Peace Prize Winner Narges Mohammadi To Additional 7.5 Years

Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (2023) and prominent human right activist, has received an additional seven-and-a-half years in prison from an Iranian court in Mashhad.

The ruling includes six years for “gathering and collusion” and one-and-a-half years for “propaganda activities”, along with two years of internal exile and a two-year travel ban.

Mohammadi, 53, was arrested in December after making remarks at a memorial service honouring lawyer Khosrow Alikordi; who had been found dead in his office in early December. Her family said she was beaten during arrest and later hospitalised.

The Narges Foundation described the hearing as a “sham”, while rights groups have raised alarm over her health and treatment. She has begun a hunger strike on 2 February and was recently taken to hospital due to poor physical condition.

Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, told the BBC that the proceedings were “a mere charade with a pre-determined end” and described the sentence as “cruel and very unfair”. He said Mohammadi refused to defend herself in court, adding: “She did not say a single word and did not sign any document.”

Mohammadi has already spent more than a decade in prison. The Narges Foundation says the latest ruling brings the total prison time ordered against her to 44 years.

Since 2021, she has been serving a 13-year sentence for alleged “propaganda against the state” and “collusion against state security”, charges she denies. She was temporarily released for three weeks in December 2024 on medical grounds from Evin Prison, and was expected to return to serve multiple sentences.