In Iran, Iranian human rights activist and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison. This was reported by The Guardian, citing the activist’s supporters and her lawyer, Mostafa Nili.
According to Nili, the verdict was handed down on February 7 by a court in the city of Mashhad. Mohammadi was sentenced to six years in prison for “assembly and collusion,” an additional year and a half for “propaganda against the state,” as well as a two-year travel ban. In addition, the court ordered two years of internal exile in the city of Khosf, located about 740 kilometers southeast of Tehran.
According to her supporters, Mohammadi was arrested in December during a protest demonstration. Since February 2, she has been on a hunger strike to protest her detention conditions and the court ruling itself.
Over the years of her human rights work, Narges Mohammadi has been arrested 13 times and sentenced to prison on five occasions. In January 2022, she was sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of “propaganda against the state” and espionage in favor of Saudi Arabia, accusations she has consistently and firmly denied. In August 2023, her sentence was extended by an additional year.
That same year, Mohammadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and for promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms. The award brought international attention to her case but, as the current verdict shows, did not reduce the pressure exerted by Iranian authorities. In December 2024, Mohammadi was granted temporary release for medical reasons, only to find herself once again facing the full force of the judicial system.
