- Narges Mohammadi, imprisoned Nobel laureate, calls for peace from Evin prison
- Her prison conditions have worsened since winning the prize in 2023
- She remains a key figure in Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom movement, despite harsh treatment
Narges Mohammadi, an incarcerated Nobel Peace Prize laureate, issued a call for Middle Eastern peace from Tehran’s notorious Evin prison on the first anniversary of her honour.
In an interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera, the Iranian human rights campaigner stated: “Today, the dark shadow of war once again hangs over our beloved country.” I loathe war.
All those responsible for war are not only condemned by the people of the lands and times they destroy, but they are also permanently shamed and ostracized in the annals of human history.
The 52-year-old, whose prison conditions have dramatically deteriorated since receiving the prize, added: “These days, as I endure harsh security conditions, I wonder if anyone hears our call for ‘No to war’?”
Mohammadi, who has been imprisoned since November 2021 for crimes related to her campaign against capital punishment and the mandatory hijab in Iran, stated on Wednesday that her treatment has gotten even more severe since she was granted the prize on October 6, 2023.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee will reveal this year’s prize on Friday. A total of 286 candidates – 197 individuals and 89 organizations – are on the list of nominees, but their identities have yet to be divulged, as is customary for the committee.
Potential winners include the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (Unrwa), the International Court of Justice tasked with resolving international conflicts in the courtroom rather than on the battlefield, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.
Weeks after the 2023 ceremony in Oslo in December, where Mohammadi’s children accepted the prize on her behalf, an Iranian revolutionary court sentenced her to an extra 15 months in prison, charging her with propagating anti-state propaganda while in prison.
“After receiving the Nobel Peace prize, I have been subjected to even tighter restrictions and harsher security conditions,” Mohammadi told reporters. She stated that she was “completely cut off from any communication with the outside world” shortly after receiving the prize.
Despite the consequences, Mohammadi, a key figure in the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, has stayed committed to her activity.
“The people of Iran want a life with dignity, and the Islamic Republic is standing in the way of that,” according to her. “The path forward for the people of Iran is to transition from tyranny to democracy.”
When her father died earlier this year, she was not permitted to send condolences to her relatives in Iran or attend his funeral. Her requests to speak with her children, Kiana and Ali, continue to be rejected, and her medical transport has been repeatedly cancelled and blocked by security and legal officials.
She stated that, despite a documented order from a heart expert for urgent angiography, she had been denied permission to leave the prison three times in the last month, despite collaboration with the hospital, prosecutor’s office, and prison authorities.
She has also been denied physiotherapy for her back, despite acute discomfort caused by a bulging disc, and is barred from having eye care.
The government’s objective appears to be to postpone treatment until my condition deteriorates entirely, she said.
She stated that the Woman, Life, Freedom movement has “not only visibly shaken the regime’s legitimacy but has also strengthened the foundations of democratic ideas, culture, traditions, and ways of life in society”.
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She stated this change “further ignited the hope of those fighting for democracy, freedom, and equality in this historical moment, though we still face a difficult path ahead”.
Earlier this year, her son Ali said the family would never stop fighting for Mohammadi’s release. He told the Guardian from their Paris home: “My mother is the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning.
His twin sister, Kiana, stated, “It’s like a game [for the regime] where they have all the cards in their hand. Whenever my mother believes she has a good hand, they can cheat and change the rules. They can easily win. We’re all helpless in the face of such might.”
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