Iran detains Nobel-prize winner in “brutal” arrest

• The Norwegian Nobel Committee condemned the "brutal" arrest of 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi in Iran and called for her unconditional release.
• Mohammadi was arrested along with at least eight other activists while attending a memorial service for a deceased lawyer, prompting her foundation to call the detentions a "blatant and serious violation" of human rights.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee condemned Friday's "brutal" arrest in Iran of activist Narges Mohammadi, winner of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, and called for her unconditional release.

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee is deeply concerned by today's brutal arrest of Narges Mohammadi alongside a number of other activists," the committee said in a statement.

Mohammadi "is a staunch defender of human rights, freedom of expression and democratic participation in Iran", it added.

Iranian security forces also arrested eight other activists with her on Friday, while she was attending a memorial service for a lawyer who died earlier this month, according to the foundation that advocates for her.

The foundation announced via X that Mohammadi, who had been granted temporary release from prison in December 2024 for medical reasons, was detained with eight other activists during a one-week commemoration for lawyer Khosrow Ali Kordi, who was found dead in his office last week.

Among those detained at the ceremony, held in the city of Mashhad (east), was prominent activist Sepideh Gholian, who had previously been imprisoned with Mohammadi in Tehran's Evin Prison.

Condemnation of "Blatant Violation"

Mohammadi’s foundation stated, "They were present only to show their respect and express solidarity at the memorial service," adding that the arrests "constitute a blatant and serious violation of fundamental freedoms and basic human rights."

Her brother, Hamid Mohammadi, who lives in Oslo, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that she "was beaten on her legs and dragged by her hair."

Khosrow Ali Kordi, 45, defended clients in sensitive cases, including individuals arrested during the crackdown on nationwide protests that erupted in 2022.

He was found dead on Dec. 5, and human rights organizations have called for an investigation into his death.

The Norwegian-based non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights stated that his death raises serious suspicions that it was a state-involved murder.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) published a video of Mohammadi attending the memorial with a crowd of Ali Kordi's supporters.

HRANA said the crowd chanted slogans including "Long live Iran," "We fight, we die, we do not accept humiliation," and "Death to the dictator" during the ceremony.

Other footage broadcast by Farsi-language television channels outside Iran showed Mohammadi climbing onto a car, holding a microphone, and urging people to repeat slogans.

The arrest came two days after the award ceremony for Machado, a fierce critic of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is an ally of Tehran.

In response, Iran's Mehr News Agency quoted Mashhad Governor Hassan Hosseini as saying the individuals concerned were arrested after "chanting slogans considered to violate public norms," without naming them.

Years Behind Bars

Mohammadi, 53, who was last arrested in November 2021, has spent most of the past decade behind bars.

Her twin children accepted the Nobel Prize on her behalf in Oslo in 2023, having spent 11 years without seeing her. Last month, Mohammadi said in a message marking her twins' 19th birthday that she had been permanently banned from leaving Iran.

Narges Mohammadi was temporarily released in December 2024 for health reasons after suffering particularly from lung and heart problems, and undergoing several surgeries, according to her brother..

Mohammadi won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her two-decade-long struggle for human rights in the Islamic Republic and strongly supported the 2022-2023 protests that erupted following the death of Iranian Mahsa Amini in custody.