Attorneys representing Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi report that the imprisoned Iranian human rights advocate may have experienced a heart attack while incarcerated.
The 53-year-old activist’s legal team and sister met with her at Zanjan Prison in Iran’s northwest region on Sunday, according to her French attorney Chirinne Ardakani, who spoke with The Associated Press following briefings from the Iranian lawyers present at the visit.
“When my colleagues saw her, they were shocked because she was very pale and had lost a lot of weight, and she was not alone but aided by a nurse,” Ardakani stated.
Ardakani explained that Mohammadi reported fellow prisoners informed her she remained unconscious for more than an hour on March 24. Following a subsequent medical evaluation at the prison’s health facility, a physician indicated she likely experienced a cardiac event.
“She said she has since been having chest pain more than once a day and she has breathing difficulties and that she is in a very bad state,” Ardakani explained.
Prison authorities have refused to allow Mohammadi’s transfer to a hospital or permit visits with her heart specialist. A correctional officer remained present during the entire brief meeting with her attorneys.
Direct contact with her Iranian legal representatives was unavailable, as they typically avoid media interactions. Government-imposed internet restrictions have severely limited communications throughout the country. Ardakani noted that unauthorized contact with foreign press can result in criminal charges carrying potential 10-year prison sentences.
The human rights attorney received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while behind bars. She was taken into custody in December while visiting Mashhad in eastern Iran and received an additional seven-year prison term.
Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, informed The Associated Press last month that her condition was deteriorating, partly due to physical assault during her December arrest. He described how multiple attackers struck and kicked her head, neck, and torso.
Before her December 12 detention, Mohammadi was already serving a 13-year, nine-month sentence for charges including conspiracy against national security and anti-government propaganda. She had been temporarily released on medical furlough since late 2024.
Throughout her temporary freedom, Mohammadi continued her advocacy work through public demonstrations and international media engagements, including protests outside Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison where she was previously held.
A Revolutionary Court in Mashhad imposed the additional seven-year sentence in February. These specialized courts routinely deliver judgments with minimal opportunity for defendants to challenge accusations.
Supporters indicate Mohammadi has pre-existing cardiac issues and previously suffered multiple heart attacks during imprisonment before requiring emergency surgical intervention in 2022.
“We are very worried that the regime is seeking to exhaust (Mohammadi), to wear her down, slowly killing her,” Ardakani expressed. She noted visible bruising remained on Mohammadi’s body more than three months following her violent arrest.
The Nobel committee issued a statement last month denouncing the “ongoing life-threatening mistreatment” of Mohammadi.
Mohammadi became the fifth individual to receive the Nobel Peace Prize while imprisoned in 2023, elevating her advocacy for the widespread demonstrations that erupted across Iran following Mahsa Amini’s death. Amini died after arrest by morality police for allegedly improper headscarf compliance.
Her Nobel selection infuriated Iran’s conservative Shiite leadership, which extended her incarceration and later deployed guards to physically attack her and other protesting inmates at Evin Prison.
Despite these challenges, Mohammadi maintained her resistance, including calls to boycott the 2024 election won by President Masoud Pezeshkian. She expressed confidence that public pressure would eventually bring governmental change to Iran.
Early Tuesday morning, reports indicated an airstrike targeted a Shiite religious facility in Zanjan, located approximately two miles from Mohammadi’s current detention center.
