Oslo: Global condemnation has flowed in after the alleged arrest of Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and prominent Iranian human rights activist in her country. The Norwegian Nobel Committee called on Iranian authorities to clarify her whereabouts, ensure her safety, and release her immediately.
Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said in a statement that Mohammadi was detained alongside several other activists while describing her as a staunch defender of human rights, freedom of expression, and democratic participation in Iran.
Expressing solidarity with her and all those working peacefully for human rights in the country, he said: “The Norwegian Nobel Committee is deeply concerned by today’s brutal arrest of Narges Mohammadi alongside a number of other activists. Ms. Mohammadi – the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate – is a staunch defender of human rights, freedom of expression and democratic participation in Iran. The Norwegian Nobel Committee calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately clarify Mohammadi’s whereabouts, ensure her safety and integrity, and to release her without conditions. The Committee stands in solidarity with Narges Mohammadi and all those in Iran who work peacefully for human rights, the rule of law, and freedom of expression.”
Her arrest coincides with the Nobel Peace Prize
being awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the committee has noted, referring to close collaboration between the Iranian and Venezuelan regimes.
“Given the close collaboration between the regimes in Iran and Venezuela, the Norwegian Nobel Committee notes that Ms. Mohammadi is arrested just as the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado,” the statement further read, as reported by The Tribune.
According to the Paris-based Narges Mohammadi Foundation, Iranian authorities arrested her violently on Friday during a memorial ceremony for Khosrow Alikordi, a lawyer recently found dead in his office, CNN reported.
Citing Mohammadi’s brother, Mehdi, the foundation reported that she was taken into custody in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city.
Mohammadi is among Iran’s most prominent human rights defenders, recognised internationally for her advocacy and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for her efforts to promote democracy, rule of law, and human rights.
She spent the majority of the past two decades in Tehran’s Evin Prison, a facility notorious for detaining critics of the Iranian regime. In December 2024, Iranian authorities temporarily suspended her prison sentence for three weeks to allow her to recover from surgery performed in November, during which a portion of her lower right leg was removed after doctors discovered a lesion suspected to be cancerous.
Mohammadi was expected to return to prison shortly thereafter but remained on furlough until her arrest on Friday.
The Narges Mohammadi Foundation has said that she has been sentenced to multiple prison terms totalling 36 years on charges including acting against national security and spreading propaganda.