Zanjan, Iran. Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi was hospitalized in Iran after what her family-run foundation described as a catastrophic deterioration in her health, including a cardiac crisis. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it was concerned her condition was worsening after a reported heart attack in prison.
Foundation reports hospital transfer and loss of consciousness
The Narges Mohammadi Foundation said on Friday that Mohammadi was urgently transferred to a hospital in Zanjan following two episodes of complete loss of consciousness and a severe cardiac crisis.
The foundation said prison doctors determined her condition could not be managed on-site, adding that standing medical recommendations called for treatment by her specialized team in Tehran. It described the transfer as a desperate, last-minute measure and said it might come too late to address her critical health needs.
Reuters said it could not immediately confirm the foundation’s statement.
Nobel Committee expresses concern
The secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awarded Mohammadi the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, said on Thursday that the committee was concerned her condition was worsening after she had suffered a heart attack in prison.
Mohammadi, in her 50s, won the prize while in prison for campaigning to advance women’s rights and abolish the death penalty in Iran.
Health history and reported symptoms
The foundation said that on Friday morning Mohammadi fainted after days of dangerously high blood pressure and severe nausea. It said she experienced multiple bouts of vomiting, then blacked out and was moved to the prison medical unit for emergency intravenous fluids.
The foundation said Mohammadi has undergone three angioplasty procedures and faces a direct and immediate threat to her right to life.
Legal case and previous statements by authorities
The foundation said in February that Mohammadi was sentenced to a new prison term of 7-1/2 years, weeks before the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran. The Nobel committee at the time called on Tehran to free her immediately.
Mohammadi was arrested in December after denouncing the death of lawyer Khosrow Alikordi. Prosecutor Hasan Hematifar told reporters then that she made provocative remarks at Alikordi’s memorial ceremony in the northeastern city of Mashhad and encouraged those present to chant norm-breaking slogans and disturb the peace.
Family calls for charges and sentences to be annulled
The family called for all charges to be dropped immediately and for all sentences imposed for her peaceful human rights work to be unconditionally annulled.
What do you think should be done to ensure imprisoned detainees receive timely access to specialized medical care?
