The human rights activist's family warned that the transfer "could come too late to address her critical needs," after the woman fainted twice and suffered a serious heart attack, probably derived from a heart attack that is believed to have occurred at the end of March.

First modification: 05/01/2026 - 23:55 Last modification: 05/01/2026 - 23:56

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, currently imprisoned in Iran, has been urgently transferred from prison to a hospital in the northwest of the country after a "catastrophic deterioration" in her health, her foundation reported on Friday.

The Narges Mohammadi Foundation stated that the Nobel Prize winner suffered two episodes of total loss of consciousness and a serious heart attack.

According to the foundation, Mohammadi fainted twice on Friday morning in Zanjan prison in northwestern Iran. She is believed to have suffered a heart attack in late March, according to her lawyers, who visited her a few days after the incident. At that time, he was pale, underweight, and needed a nurse's help to walk.

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The transfer to the hospital occurs "after 140 days of systematic medical negligence" since his arrest on December 12, according to the foundation.

"This transfer was carried out as an unavoidable necessity after prison doctors determined that her condition could not be treated on site, despite current medical recommendations that she be treated by their specialized team in Tehran," the foundation stated.

It could be too late

Mohammadi's family had been asking for weeks that she be transferred to appropriate medical centers.

The foundation, citing his family, said his transfer on Friday to a hospital in Zanjan was "a desperate and 'last minute' measure that may come too late to address his critical needs."

Mohammadi's brother, Hamidreza Mohammadi, who lives in Oslo, Norway, said in an audio message shared with the AP by the foundation that his family is "fighting for their lives."

"My family in Iran is doing everything they can. But the prosecutors in Zanjan are blocking everything," he said.

On March 24, Narges Mohammadi's cellmates found her unconscious, they told her lawyers during a visit a few days later. After a subsequent examination at the prison clinic, a doctor told him that he had probably suffered a heart attack. Since then, he suffered from chest pain and breathing difficulties.

His legal representative in France, Chirinne Ardakani, stated at the time that Mohammadi had been denied transfer to the hospital or a visit to his cardiologist. A prison official was present throughout the brief visit by Mohammadi's lawyers.

Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023

Mohammadi, 53, a human rights lawyer who won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize while in prison, was arrested again in December during a visit to the eastern Iranian city of Mashhad and sentenced to seven more years in prison.

His family stated in February that his health was deteriorating in prison, in part due to the beating he suffered during his detention in December. On that occasion, several men allegedly hit and kicked her in the side, head and neck.

In a statement released in February, the Nobel committee condemned the "continued, life-threatening mistreatment" of Mohammadi.

"In recent days, his blood pressure has experienced strong fluctuations, going up and down a lot, and today he suddenly fainted due to a sudden drop in blood pressure," his lawyer, Mostafa Nili, posted on X.

At first, the prison doctor injected Mohammadi with medication, but she refused to be transferred to a hospital and demanded to see her cardiologist. A few hours later, he fainted again. This time, a neurologist ordered his immediate transfer to a hospital, the lawyer added.

Mohammadi was rushed to the hospital and admitted to the cardiac care unit, "but her blood pressure continues to fluctuate considerably," Nili wrote.

According to him, a medical official in Zanján recommended a one-month suspension of his sentence so that he could receive treatment, but the prosecutor of the city where the prison is located referred the matter to his counterpart in Tehran.

Before her arrest on December 12, Mohammadi was already serving a sentence of 13 years and nine months on charges of conspiracy against state security and propaganda against the Government of Iran, but had been released on parole since late 2024 for medical reasons.

He continued his activism during the leave

During that leave, Mohammadi maintained her activism with public protests and appearances in international media, including demonstrations in front of the famous Evin prison in Tehran, where she had been held.

In February, a revolutionary court in Mashhad sentenced Mohammadi to seven more years in prison. These courts often hand down sentences giving defendants little, if any, opportunity to defend themselves against the charges.

According to her followers, Mohammadi suffered several heart attacks during her imprisonment before undergoing emergency surgery in 2022.

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In 2023, she became the fifth laureate to receive the Nobel Peace Prize while in prison, further amplifying her voice in support of the widespread protests that spread across Iran following the death the previous year of Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the country's morality police for not properly wearing the mandatory headscarf.

Her election infuriated Iran's hardline Shiite theocracy, which increased her sentence and subsequently sent guards to mistreat her along with other protesting prisoners inside Evin Prison.

However, Mohammadi remained defiant, going so far as to call for a boycott of the 2024 elections, which President Masoud Pezeshkian won. He maintained that one day the Government of Iran would change due to popular pressure.

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