Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi hospitalised following arrest in Iran, family say

The Narges Foundation confirmed that Ms Mohammadi had contacted her family following her arrest

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was reportedly taken to hospital emergency rooms twice after sustaining injuries from security forces during her arrest on 12 December, her family informed the Narges Foundation on Monday.

The human rights activist, who was awarded the prestigious prize in 2023 while imprisoned, has dedicated three decades to campaigning for women's rights and the abolition of the death penalty in Iran.

She was re-arrested on Friday, having been released late last year, after speaking out against the suspicious death of lawyer Khosrow Alikordi.

Mashhad prosecutor Hasan Hematifar stated on Saturday that Ms Mohammadi and Mr Alikordi's brother had made "provocative remarks" at the lawyer's memorial service in Mashhad, encouraging attendees "to chant norm-breaking slogans" and "disturb the peace".

The family-run Narges Foundation confirmed that Ms Mohammadi had contacted her family late on Sunday.

"Narges Mohammadi said in the call that the intensity of the blows was so heavy, forceful, and repeated that she was taken to the hospital emergency room twice... Her physical condition at the time of the call was not good, and she appeared unwell," the foundation said in a post on X.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was taken to the hospital emergency room twice after suffering blows from security forces who arrested her on December 12, her family told the Narges Foundation on Monday (Associated Press)

Mohammadi had been released in December last year from Tehran's Evin prison after the suspension of her jail term to undergo medical treatment.

She told her family she was accused of "cooperating with the Israeli government" and received death threats from security forces, prompting her to request her legal team to file a formal complaint against the detaining security body and the violent manner of her arrest.

There was no immediate comment from the Iranian authorities.

Mohammadi has been out on a medical furlough from prison, where she is serving 13 years and nine months on charges of collusion against state security and propaganda against Iran’s government.

She has kept up her activism, despite numerous arrests by Iranian authorities and spending years behind bars. That includes backing the nationwide, women-led protests sparked by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, which have seen women openly defy the government by not wearing the hijab.