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Concern for jailed Iranian Nobel laureate as family say health deteriorating
Narges Mohammadi, a jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is reported to have severe health deterioration. Her family and the Nobel Peace Prize committee are appealing for transfer to adequate medical facilities, with prior arrests, a 2024 medical release, and a 2025 arrest highlighted in the timeline.
Why It Matters
The case underscores concerns about medical treatment of prisoners and the handling of high-profile human rights detainees in Iran, attracting international scrutiny from the Nobel committee and human rights observers.
Timeline
9 Events
Nobel committee chair says health risk remains
May 2, 2026
Jorgen Watne Frydnes, head of the Nobel Peace Prize committee, told Reuters that Mohammadi's life remained at risk.
Transferred to hospital in Zanjan province due to deteriorating health
May 2, 2026
The Narges Mohammadi Foundation said she had been transferred to a hospital in Zanjan province following catastrophic deterioration in her health.
Taken to local hospital
May 1, 2026
Mohammadi was taken from her prison in north-west Iran to a local hospital, in what her family described as a last-minute move that may come too late.
Transfer to Zanjan prison
February 2026
The following week after the February 2026 sentencing, she was transferred to Zanjan prison and has been allowed only limited communication with her family since then.
Additional prison sentence
February 2026
In early February 2026, Mohammadi was sentenced by a Revolutionary Court to an additional seven-and-a-half years in prison for 'gathering and collusion' and 'propaganda activities', according to her lawyer.
Beating reported during arrest and hospitalisation
December 2025
Her family said she was taken to hospital after being beaten during the December 2025 arrest in Mashhad.
Arrest in Mashhad after memorial ceremony
December 2025
She was arrested in the north-eastern city of Mashhad in December 2025 after delivering a speech at the memorial ceremony of a fellow human rights activist.
Temporary medical-release from Evin Prison
December 2024
In December 2024, Mohammadi was granted a temporary release from Tehran's Evin Prison on medical grounds.
Began serving 13-year sentence
2021
Narges Mohammadi began serving a 13-year prison sentence in 2021 on charges including propaganda activity against the state and collusion against state security, which she denies.