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Narges Mohammadi: Iranian human rights defender wins Nobel Peace Prize

Narges Mohammadi
Narges Mohammadi, Iranian human rights defender © Photographer Ann Harrison

Who is Narges Mohammadi?

Narges Mohammadi is a distinguised human rights defender who has been repeatedly imprisoned for her work to promote human rights and fight against the oppression of women. In October 2023, Narges was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her fight against the oppression of women and for her work to promote human rights.

Narges has suffered years of harassment punctuated by intermittent periods in detention, which have inflicted a devastating toll on Narges' health and has emotionally scarred her two young children as the authorities denied her the right to have access to her children. Her nine-year-old twins had to move abroad to live with their father.

"Narges smiles as she walks along holding her fingers up in a peace symbol. Text overlay reads: Courage""

What happened?

She was arrested in May 2015 and initially taken toTehran's notorious Evin prison. The court sentenced her to ten years’ imprisonment on the charge of 'founding an illegal group’ for her involvement with Legam. She also received a five year sentence for ‘gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security’, and one additional year for ‘spreading propaganda against the system’.

The authorities have deliberately denied her adequate healthcare in reprisal for her public campaigning against the use of solitary confinement in Iran’s prisons and for seeking accountability for hundreds of unlawful killings during the November 2019 nationwide protests.

Nobel Peace Prize

In October 2023, Narges was awarded the prestigious Noble Peace Prize for her incredible activism and courage.

"Her brave struggle has come with tremendous personal costs. Altogether, the regime has arrested her 13 times, convicted her five times, and sentenced her to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes,” - Berit Reiss-Andersen, the head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee

Her husband commented that the prize would embolden her fight for women's rights and that it represents a prize for the Woman, Life, Freedom protests that took place across Iran in 2022.

Despite her repeated imprisonment and the torture that she has endured, Narges continues to stand up for human rights and against the Iranian authorities.

“What the government may not understand is that the more of us they lock up, the stronger we become." - Narges Mohammadi

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