🔗 Share this article Peace Prize Winner Narges Mohammadi Allegedly Arrested in Iran, According to Supporters Authorities in Iran have reportedly detained 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi in a manner described as “violent.” The arrest reportedly occurred at a commemorative event for a human rights lawyer, according to her foundation. Details of the Detention Mohammadi, who was released on a temporary basis from prison on medical grounds in December 2024, was detained along with several other activists at the ceremony for Khosro Alikordi. Alikordi was discovered deceased in his office the previous week. Her Paris-based husband, Taghi Rahmani, confirmed the arrest occurred in the city in the east of Mashhad. A fellow prominent activist, Sepideh Gholian, was also taken into custody at the same event. There has been no official statement from Iranian authorities regarding the arrest of the 53-year-old Mohammadi. Supporters had warned for months that she was at danger of being returned to prison. It is not yet known if she will be immediately returned to serve the remainder of her sentence. Background to the Memorial Event The ceremony was for Khosro Alikordi, who was found dead earlier this month. Authorities from Razavi Khorasan province described his death as a heart attack. However, his death coincided with a heightened security clampdown, which has raised questions. More than eighty lawyers have signed a statement calling for greater transparency. “Alikordi was a prominent figure among Iran’s community of human rights defenders,” said a international human rights organization. “Over the past several years, he had been detained multiple times, harassed and threatened by security and judicial forces|state authorities.” The Activist's Recent Actions and Medical Struggles Video apparently from the ceremony showed Mohammadi at a microphone, addressing the gathered crowd without a head covering. She is said to have started chants of the name Majidreza Rahnavard, a man publicly hanged by authorities in 2022. Prior to her release last December, Mohammadi had been incarcerated from November 2021 on convictions related to her campaigning against capital punishment and Iran’s mandatory hijab law. Her supporters state she suffered several cardiac episodes while imprisoned and underwent an urgent operation in 2022. In late 2024, her lawyer revealed doctors had discovered a suspicious bone growth feared to be malignant, which was later removed. Longstanding Activism and Incarceration Mohammadi’s sentence was supposed to be three-week suspension, but her time out of prison lengthened, possibly due to pressure from activists and western powers. She remained out even during the brief conflict between Iran and Israel in June. She continued her activism through public demonstrations and interviews with global press, including a demonstration in front of Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, where she had been previously held. An engineer by training, Mohammadi has been imprisoned 13 times and found guilty in five cases. In total, she has been given over 30 years in prison.