Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has received additional prison sentences of seven and a half years, her lawyer announced.
The Iranian human rights activist was handed six years for “gathering and collusion” and another one and a half years for “propaganda activities” by a court in Mashhad, according to lawyer Mostafa Nili, who shared the news on social media on Sunday.
Mohammadi was arrested in December after making “provocative remarks” at a memorial ceremony. Her family reported she was beaten during the arrest and later taken to hospital.
She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran. The 53-year-old has also been banned from leaving the country for two years and sentenced to two years of exile in Khusf.
The Narges Foundation, which supports her, condemned Saturday’s hearing as a “sham” and said Mohammadi began a hunger strike on February 2. Nili added she was hospitalized three days ago due to poor health before being returned to detention.
“When she began to explain the events and how she was detained, the phone was disconnected,” Nili said.
Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, described the ruling as “cruel and very unfair,” noting Mohammadi refused to defend herself in court, believing the judiciary “holds no legitimacy.” He said she remained silent throughout the proceedings and signed no documents.
Her daughter, Kiana Rahmani, voiced grave concern for her mother’s condition.
Mohammadi has already spent more than a decade behind bars. The Narges Foundation says the latest ruling brings her total prison sentences to 44 years. Since 2021, she has been serving a 13-year term for “propaganda activity against the state” and “collusion against state security,” charges she denies.
She was briefly released from Tehran’s Evin prison in December 2024 on medical grounds but was expected to return soon after. Her most recent arrest occurred at a memorial for lawyer Khosrow Alikordi, who was found dead in his office earlier that month.
Iran Human Rights, based in Norway, has called for an independent inquiry into Alikordi’s death, citing “suspicious” circumstances. The Narges Foundation said eyewitnesses saw Mohammadi attacked by around 15 plainclothes agents, who pulled her hair and beat her with clubs and batons.
Mashhad prosecutor Hasan Hematifar claimed Mohammadi was among 39 people arrested at the memorial, accusing her and Alikordi’s brother of encouraging “norm-breaking slogans” and disturbing public order.
Mohammadi was also among signatories of a petition holding Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responsible for “crimes against humanity” over the killing of protesters during unrest that began in late December. The petition demanded prosecutions of those acting under Khamenei’s orders and called for an end to the Islamic Republic.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency has documented more than 50,000 arrests linked to the protests and confirmed at least 6,961 deaths.
Four other activists—Abdollah Momeni, Mehdi Mahmoudian, Vida Rabbani, and Ghorban Behzadian-Nejad—have been detained since January 31 for their involvement in the petition.
Rahmani urged the release of “all political prisoners in Iran.”
