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Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Narges Mohammadi has had a new multi-year prison sentence added to her by an Iranian court, according to her lawyer.
An Iranian court in the northeastern city of Mashhad sentenced Mohammadi to a total of seven and a half years in prison, her lawyer Mostafa Nili announced on social media on Sunday. Specifically, she was sentenced to six years for "gathering and collaboration" and an additional year and a half for "propaganda action."
The 53-year-old human rights activist was arrested in December, with Iranian authorities claiming at the time that she had made "provocative statements" during a memorial service. Her family had alleged that, during her arrest, she was beaten and taken to hospital.
Mohammadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for her work against the oppression of women in Iran.
Nili, who spoke to her for the first time since December 14, also said she had been given a two-year travel ban and two years of internal exile in the eastern province of Khusf. The Narges Foundation, which supports Mohammadi, called Saturday's trial a "farce" and said the activist had begun a hunger strike on February 2.
According to her lawyer, Mohammadi was taken to hospital three days ago “due to her poor physical condition” before being returned to the detention centre where she is being held. “When she started describing the events and how she was arrested, the phone line was disconnected,” he said.
Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, said Mohammadi did not present any defense in court, due to her “unwavering” belief that “this justice has no legitimacy” and that the process was “just a farce with a predetermined end.” “Although she was probably forced to participate, she remained silent, did not say a single word, and did not sign any documents,” he added.
Speaking to the BBC, she called the decision "cruel and deeply unjust" and called on human rights groups to respond. At the same time, her daughter, Kiana Rahmani, said she was "deeply concerned" about her mother's condition.
Mohammadi has already spent more than a decade in prison. According to the Narges Foundation, the latest conviction brings her total prison sentence to 44 years. As of 2021, she is serving a 13-year sentence for “propaganda against the state” and “collaboration against state security,” charges she denies.
In December 2024, she was granted a three-week temporary release from Tehran's notorious Evin prison for health reasons. She was due to return to prison shortly thereafter, where she is serving multiple sentences.
Her most recent arrest occurred while attending a memorial service for Khosrow Alikordi, a lawyer who was found dead in his office in early December.
The Norway-based Human Rights Organization in Iran has called for an independent investigation into the circumstances of his death, calling them "suspicious." The Narges Foundation had previously reported that eyewitnesses saw Mohammadi being attacked by about 15 men in civilian clothes, suspected of belonging to the regime, during the ceremony. According to the same testimony, some pulled him by the hair and beat him with rubber batons.
Mashhad prosecutor Hassan Hematifar told reporters that Mohammadi was among 39 people arrested and that she, along with Alikordi's brother, had called on participants to "shout slogans that violate the rules" and "disturb public order."
Mohammadi was also among the signatories of a petition that sharply criticized Iranian authorities and held Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, responsible for what she called "crimes against humanity," referring to the killing of protesters during the unrest that erupted in late December.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says it has recorded more than 50,000 arrests in connection with the protests, while confirming at least 6,961 deaths.
The petition called for the prosecution of those acting on Khamenei's orders, as well as the end of the Islamic Republic. Four other prominent Iranian activists: Abdullah Momeni, Mehdi Mahmoudian, Vida Rabbani, and Ghorban Behzadian-Nejad, have also been arrested since January 31 for their contributions to the petition. Taghi Rahmani finally called for the release of "all political prisoners in Iran."
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