Nobel Committee accuses Iran of 'life-threatening mistreatment' of jailed Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi

The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Wednesday (Feb 12) accused Iranian authorities of subjecting imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to "life-threatening mistreatment." The Nobel Committee said it has received "credible reports" from inside the country that the Nobel laureate was subjected to severe physical abuse in Iran.

Horrifying abuse

Talking to CNN, Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes described the allegations as "horrifying." He said that during her arrest in December, Mohammadi was beaten with wooden sticks and batons and dragged across the ground by her hair. This, he said, led to her sustaining injuries, including open wounds on her head. Frydnes said that the activist was also kicked repeatedly in the pelvis and genital area, leaving her with intense pain. He added that she was then denied proper medical care while in detention.

"The reports are, in fact, horrifying," Frydnes said, adding that "This constitutes cruel and inhumane treatment — a blatant violation of international human rights law".

The committee fears for Mohammadi’s life, given Mohammadi's known heart disease and other medical conditions. "We definitely worry that she will not be able to live any longer," he said.

Health concerns grow in detention

Mohammadi, one of Iran’s most prominent human rights advocates, was hospitalised last week but transferred back to a detention facility in Mashhad before completing treatment, said her family-run foundation.

The foundation also revealed that Mohammadi, on Sunday, ended a hunger strike she had begun earlier this month to protest her "unlawful detention, dire prison conditions, and the denial of contact with her family and lawyers".

Why is she in jail?

Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for her advocacy of women’s rights and democracy in Iran, has spent much of the past two decades in and out of Tehran’s Evin prison. Authorities briefly suspended her sentence in December 2024 to allow her to recover from surgery, but she was arrested again the following year.

On Saturday, a court sentenced her to more than seven additional years in prison. According to her lawyer, Mostafa Nili "She has been sentenced to six years in prison for ‘gathering and collusion’ and one and a half years for propaganda and two-year travel ban".