Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and prominent Iranian human rights activist, has been arrested by Iranian security forces, her supporters reported Friday. Mohammadi, a vocal advocate against mandatory veiling and the death penalty, was detained during a memorial service in Mashhad, signaling a potential escalation in the government’s crackdown on dissent. She has already spent years imprisoned for her activism and was recently on furlough when the arrest occurred, having previously been sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison. The arrest raises concerns about Mohammadi’s safety and the future of human rights advocacy within Iran.
Iranian security forces have arrested Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, supporters said Friday, alleging a forceful detention. The arrest of Mohammadi, a prominent advocate against mandatory veiling for women and the death penalty, comes as concerns grow over increasing crackdowns on dissent within the country. She had been on medical furlough since late 2024 and was detained during a memorial ceremony in the city of Mashhad for a human rights lawyer who died earlier this month. Reports indicate that other activists were also arrested.
“The Narges Foundation has received reliable information that Narges Mohammadi was violently detained by security forces and police during the seventh-day memorial ceremony for Khosrow Alikordi, an hour ago,” the activist’s foundation stated Friday. “Unconfirmed reports also indicate that Sepideh Qolian, Hasti Amiri, Pouran Nazemi, Alieh Motalebzadeh, and several other human rights activists were arrested at the scene.”
Mohammadi, a human rights and women’s rights activist, has spent much of the past several years imprisoned at Evin Prison in Tehran, known for holding individuals deemed adversarial to the Iranian regime. Upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee highlighted that she had been arrested 13 times and sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison.
Both the activist and her supporters – the Narges Foundation operates from Paris, where her children and husband currently reside – have asserted that the Iranian government was signaling an increased crackdown. In July, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, the chair of the Nobel Committee, said he spoke with the activist and was informed that her life was in danger.
“The clear message, in her own words, was: ‘I have been directly and indirectly threatened with ‘physical elimination’ by agents of the regime,’” Frydnes said.
In October, Mohammadi stated she had been permanently banned from leaving Iran. Around the same time, the activist’s legal team warned that she could be arrested again and returned to prison at any moment.
