Iranian authorities have allowed imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to be hospitalised after almost nine weeks of feeling sick, a group campaigning for the activist said.
The Free Narges Coalition said that Ms Mohammadi must be granted a medical furlough to receive comprehensive treatment for multiple conditions.
It said that just transferring her to the hospital would not address the severe health issues caused by months of neglect and deprivation.
Mohammadi suffers from heart disease, and according to her medical report issued in September, the main artery of her heart has again developed a serious complication.
The coalition said that they continue to demand the unconditional release of Mohammadi and her full access to medical care.
Mohammadi is being held at Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, which houses political prisoners and those with Western ties. She already had been serving a 30-month sentence, to which 15 more months were added in January.
On Saturday, Iranian authorities issued an additional six-month sentence against her after she staged a protest against the execution of another political prisoner in the women’s ward of Evin Prison on 6 August.
Ms Mohammadi, 52, has been arrested and imprisoned repeatedly since 1998 for her human rights advocacy work, including promoting civil disobedience against the mandatory use of the hijab.
In 2016, she was sentenced to 16 years for campaigning against the death penalty. She was released in 2020, before again being imprisoned in 2021. She has since reported on the abuse and solitary confinement of women in prison.
She won the Nobel in 2023, for the “courageous fight for freedom and human rights over three decades, and for taking leadership when a new wave of protests swept over Iran”.
As the second Iranian woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Ms Mohammadi followed in the footsteps of Shirin Ebadi, who also became the first Muslim to win the award when she was honoured for her advocacy for women’s, children’s and refugee rights. Ms Mohammadi is also the 19th woman in total to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
