(Photo from AFP PHOTO / NARGES MOHAMMADI FOUNDATION)
Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian female activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was taken to hospital after being violently arrested by authorities several days ago.
On 15 Dec 2025 GMT+7, the family of Ms. Narges Mohammadi, vice president of the Center for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner, revealed she was hospitalized after being physically assaulted during an arrest last week.
The Narges Foundation stated that the 53-year-old human rights activist called her family on Sunday to report she had been taken twice to the emergency department after being "repeatedly and severely beaten on the head and neck with batons by plainclothes officers."
Iranian authorities have not commented on the incident but said Ms. Mohammadi was detained for making "inciting remarks" at a memorial event in Mashhad on Friday (12 Dec 2025 GMT+7).
The Nobel Committee and Iranian award-winning film director Jafar Panahi are among those calling for her release.
Ms. Mohammadi won the Nobel Prize in 2023 for her activism against the oppression of women in Iran and for promoting human rights. She has spent over 10 years in prison and was sentenced again in 2021 to 13 years for "propaganda against the state" and "conspiracy against national security," charges she denies.
In Dec 2024, Ms. Mohammadi was granted temporary medical release from the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, and she has continued her activism while receiving treatment.
On Friday (12 Dec 2025 GMT+7), she delivered a speech at a memorial in Mashhad for Kosro Alikordi, a human rights activist and lawyer found dead earlier this month under circumstances human rights groups called "suspicious."
According to the Narges Foundation, eyewitnesses reported that about 15 plainclothes officers assaulted Ms. Mohammadi at the memorial, some pulling her hair and hitting her with sticks and batons, accusing her of collaborating with the Israeli government and threatening her with statements like "We will make your mother mourn."
Besides Ms. Mohammadi, two other activists—Sepideh Gholian and Puran Nasimi—were also detained at the memorial event and reportedly beaten by plainclothes officers.
Hasan Hematifar, Mashhad city prosecutor, told reporters on Saturday that Ms. Mohammadi was among 39 people arrested for allegedly inciting attendees, including Kosro Alikordi's brother Javed, to shout "illegal slogans" and "disturb public order."
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Source:bbc