The Iranian regime arrests Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi again
The journalist was on parole when she gave a speech at the funeral of a human rights lawyer.
BarcelonaThe Iranian journalist Narjas MohammadiMohammadi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, was arrested by police on Friday while participating in a tribute to human rights lawyer Khosrow Alikordi, who died last week. The arrest, described as "temporary" by Tehran, has sparked a wave of international condemnation and has been denounced as a new episode of repression against freedoms in the country.
The campaign supporting Mohammadi, of which Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is a member, denounced the arrest as "clear evidence of renewed repression" against freedom of assembly and of the press, and against human rights in Iran. "It is an outrageous attack against all human rights defenders and journalists," warned the Free Narges Coalition, which also demanded the immediate release of the other activists detained during the ceremony. The arrest took place in Mashhad, in the northeast of the country, where Mohammadi gave a speech and chanted slogans such as "Long live Iran," according to videos posted on his X account. Iranian authorities have justified the arrest by claiming that he participated in celebrations that violated "slogans that he violates."
The support committee has noted that, since her release on parole a year ago, Mohammadi has been subjected to constant threats and harassment by the authorities, who—according to her—have never hidden their desire to imprison her again. The 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate had publicly denounced in late November that the Iranian regime had "permanently" banned her from leaving the country and was denying her a passport so she could visit her two children, whom she has not seen for eleven years. Mohammadi, 53, has been out of prison for a year, having been released on medical grounds after suffering three heart attacks and being diagnosed with a bone tumor. Throughout her career, she has been arrested thirteen times, convicted nine times, and imprisoned for the last time in 2021. Despite the repression, she has continued to denounce human rights violations in Iran, such as the application of the death penalty and violence against women who do not wear the Islamic veil.
