Narges Mohammadi Critically Ill in Iranian Detention, Family Reports

(SeaPRwire) –   The family of Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi states she is in critical health in Iran, alleging officials are refusing the jailed activist urgent heart care.

Speaking to TIME, her brother Hamidreza says his sister has Prinzmetal angina, a condition that leads to coronary artery spasms and can cause heart attacks and other severe issues. 

“We are deeply concerned that Narges’s heart could stop,” he stated in a phone call from Oslo.

Mohammadi, detained in Zanjan Prison in the northwest since December, was moved to a local hospital last Friday after a rapid decline in her health. Her family asserts the condition emerged during her imprisonment.

Her brother reports that relatives visited her at the hospital this week under strict monitoring by Iranian officials.

The family is calling for her transfer to a Tehran hospital to obtain specialized care, a request Iranian authorities have denied, according to Hamidreza.

“The crucial point is that she needs to be seen by multiple specialists—and she has previous doctors who know her case,” he said. “It’s an emergency—every moment is critical.” 

Worsening health in custody 

Mohammadi, a leading Iranian human rights defender, has spent decades advocating for women’s rights, free speech, and an end to capital punishment, despite frequent arrests and jail time. The 54-year-old received the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her work combating the oppression of women in Iran and promoting universal human rights and freedom.

“I will never cease working toward achieving democracy, freedom, and equality,” she declared upon accepting the award. 

According to her foundation, Mohammadi has been arrested 13 times, receiving cumulative sentences of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes. She was granted temporary release from Tehran’s Evin Prison on health grounds in December 2024, but was detained again a year later after addressing a memorial for a human rights lawyer.

Her brother alleges she was badly beaten during and after her arrest, resulting in severe headaches and major vision impairment in one eye. He adds she has had serious chest pain, nausea, fainting episodes, blood pressure instability, and a suspected heart attack in March.

Hamidreza recounts that a Tehran prosecutor’s deputy went to Zanjan and, with six local doctors, concluded Mohammadi was critically ill and needed specialist care for “a minimum of one month outside prison.” He states this advice has been ignored by authorities.

“The authorities are attempting to cover this up and leave her in that state, wishing for her death,” Hamidreza said.

He adds that contact with his sister and family in Iran is still “extremely restricted” because of ongoing nationwide internet disruptions after lethal mass protests. 

Growing calls for Mohammadi’s release 

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has urged Iranian authorities to “promptly move” Mohammadi to a suitable medical facility in Tehran.

“Lacking this care, her life continues to be endangered,” the committee said in a release. “Narges Mohammadi is jailed only for her non-violent human rights activism. Her survival now depends on the Iranian authorities.” 

The committee had earlier demanded Iran “free Mohammadi at once and without conditions” from her “arbitrary and unfair” detention, listing numerous abuses she has faced in prison, such as frequent assaults, isolation, and questioning.

Her children, Ali and Kiana, who head the Narges Mohammadi Human Rights Foundation, have also consistently called for their mother to get proper medical attention. 

In a comment to TIME, Ali called the denial of necessary heart treatment “an intentional act of torture.” 

“We carry on our mother’s fight by amplifying her voice and the voices of all human rights defenders within Iran who are working for a brighter future.” 

The siblings have not met their mother in a decade. “Growing up in a political family in Iran means responsibility arrives very young,” Kiana remarked. “You understand that staying silent is not a choice.” 

Family appeals to President Trump

Hamidreza contends Iran is exploiting the conflict with the U.S. and Israel as a pretext to crack down on dissenters like his sister. 

“They have employed the war as a justification to execute and arrest numerous individuals without fair trials,” he stated, observing that “history is repeating itself” regarding the thousands of political prisoners executed during the Iran-Iraq War.

Mohammadi’s family is appealing to President Donald Trump to include political prisoners and dissidents in any upcoming talks with Iran.

“Do not allow the Iranian government to hold the Strait of Hormuz hostage, and insist that any discussions be contingent on freeing prisoners, halting executions, and ending the killing of individuals like Narges,” Hamidreza said.