After being transferred to the hospital last weekend, Iranian activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi is “between life and death,” according to her lawyer. On Tuesday, Mohammadi's lawyer, Shirin Ardakani, expressed her unprecedented fear for her client's life. The Iranian woman, who won the 2023 Nobel Prize in honor of more than two decades of human rights struggle, was arrested in December in the eastern city of Mashhad, after criticizing the Iranian authorities.

Published on: 05/05/2026 - 16:36 Last updated: 05/05/2026 - 18:24

Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is “between life and death” after being transferred to the hospital over the weekend, according to what her lawyer said on Tuesday.

Read also: The head of the Nobel Peace Committee demands that Iran hand over Narges Mohammadi to its medical team for treatment

Shirin Ardakani said in a press conference held by the Mohammadi Support Committee in Paris, “We have never felt such fear for Narges’s life. She may leave us at any moment.” She added: "We are not only fighting for her freedom, but we are fighting for her heart to continue beating."

The 54-year-old activist was transferred in early May from Zanjan prison in the north of the country to a hospital in the region “after a serious deterioration in her health, which included two cases of complete loss of consciousness and a heart attack,” according to a statement issued by the institution that bears her name and defends her.

Jonathan Dagher, Middle East official at Reporters Without Borders, said: “This is the first time that the risk of death has been presented in this way, and there is a real danger that calls for action before it is too late.”

While Mohammadi’s husband and two children reside in Paris, her lawyer called on French President Emmanuel Macron to take a more firm stance, saying: “We are waiting for a strong position from the president, and I do not see any exaggeration in this request.”

She pointed out that Mohammadi lost about 20 kilograms of weight in prison, faces difficulties in speaking, and has become “unrecognizable” compared to her situation before her recent arrest.

Her supporters are demanding that she be transferred to Tehran to receive treatment by her private medical team.

Mohammadi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 in recognition of more than two decades of her human rights struggle, was arrested in December in the eastern city of Mashhad after criticizing the Iranian authorities during a funeral ceremony.

Last February, she was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of “harming national security,” in addition to a year and a half on charges of “propaganda against the Islamic regime in Iran.”

Over the past 25 years, Mohammadi has been repeatedly imprisoned for her activism against the death penalty and the strict dress code imposed on women in Iran.

France 24/AFP

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