Narges Mohammadi arrested in Iran: Nobel Peace Prize laureate taken during a commemoration in Mashhad.

The new detention of Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, comes at a highly symbolic time and place: a mourning ceremony in the city of Mashhad marking the seventh day since the death of human rights lawyer Khosrow Alikordi. According to Iranian human rights organizations, cited by exiled media, security forces stormed the mosque where the commemoration was being held, interrupting the service and forcibly removing the activist, along with numerous others present. Mohammadi, 53, was on medical leave from Evin Prison in Tehran, where she is serving a total sentence of 13 years and nine months in prison on charges related to national security and propaganda against the state.

The Mystery of Khosrow Alikordi's Death

The ceremony, interrupted by the arrests, was dedicated to the memory of Khosrow Alikordi, a lawyer and human rights activist known for defending political prisoners and protesters in the nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini. Alikordi was found dead in his office in Mashhad in early December; authorities described him as suffering from cardiac arrest, but family members, colleagues, and human rights organizations denounced suspicious circumstances, openly speaking of a possible state assassination. In recent years, the lawyer had faced convictions, prison terms, and professional bans for his work defending dissidents, and had himself made clear, in a letter to the United Nations, his fear of being "physically eliminated." The climate of suspicion surrounding his death transformed the mourning into a moment of political protest, with slogans against repression and the authorities, making the commemoration a predictable target for security forces.

A health permit that has become a political challenge

Narges Mohammadi was released from Evin Prison in December 2024 on medical leave that was supposed to last only a few weeks. The severity of her health—heart problems, surgery for a potentially cancerous bone lesion, and years of detention and abuse—had prompted the authorities to grant her leave.

 In practice, under pressure from international organizations and some Western governments, that period was extended, transforming into an unstable probation. Physically far from her cell, but never safe, Mohammadi chose to use every day outside prison as an extension of her struggle: interviews with international media, public speeches, participation in demonstrations, even taking the highly provocative decision to demonstrate outside Evin Prison itself.

A biography marked by prisons and trials

The arrest in Mashhad is not an isolated episode in the activist's life, but the latest chapter in a personal story marked by judicial persecution. Mohammadi has been arrested more than ten times, convicted in numerous trials, and, according to various estimates, has accumulated over thirty years of prison sentences and multiple lashes, often on broad charges such as "propaganda against the state," "collusion against national security," or "spreading lies." Her commitment against the death penalty, against the systematic use of psychological torture—denounced in her book on "white torture" and the use of solitary confinement—and against forced veiling has made her a prime target of the Iranian security apparatus. She has been barred from leaving the country for years and has not seen her children, who have fled abroad with her husband, for over a decade.

Threats of “physical elimination”

Mohammadi has long explicitly denounced direct and indirect death threats. In an interview last August with the German weekly "Der Spiegel," she said she had received warnings from intelligence agents, who had openly suggested killing her. The chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee has publicly confirmed that the activist has reported threats of "physical elimination" from state institutions, calling on Iranian authorities to guarantee her safety and put an end to a persecution deemed to be completely unfounded. Today's arrest, which comes amidst a suspicious death like Alikordi's, only fuels the perception that Mohammadi is exposed to growing personal risk, especially as an international symbol of resistance to the regime.

The weight of the Nobel Prize and the challenge of the regime

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Narges Mohammadi in 2023 brought global attention to the repression of women and civil society in Iran, sparked by the protests that erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini. The citation for the award emphasized Mohammadi's role in the fight against "the oppression of women" and for the promotion of human rights and the values ​​of "Woman, Life, Liberty." For the Islamic Republic, the very existence of an active Nobel Peace Prize laureate, still in her homeland and determined not to bow, represents a political problem: every arrest, every trial, every restriction on her freedom transforms an individual case into a test of the credibility of the Iranian judicial system in the eyes of international public opinion. The new arrest in Mashhad therefore also appears to have an "exemplary" function: to signal that international prestige is no shield, and that no external recognition can limit the power of the security apparatus.

The crackdown after the June war with Israel

In recent months, Mohammadi had denounced a sharp intensification of internal repression following the ceasefire between Iran and Israel in June 2025. According to his reconstruction, with the acute phase of the military conflict behind them, the authorities have focused their energies on a new campaign of intimidation against activists, journalists, lawyers, and regime critics. Targeted arrests, reopening of old court files, and convictions in absentia combine to signal a desire to stifle any remaining space for organized opposition. In this context, Mohammadi's presence at public events, often without a veil and surrounded by supporters, has been perceived as a direct challenge.

Mashhad, between a holy city and a laboratory of repression

The decision to intervene forcefully in Mashhad is no coincidence. The city, one of Iran's main religious centers and home to the mausoleum of Imam Reza, represents a symbolic bastion of the regime's religious and political power. At the same time, in recent years, Mashhad has become the scene of demonstrations and protests, often harshly repressed. In the case of Alikordi's commemoration, according to testimonies shared on social media and confirmed by human rights groups, the ceremony turned into a moment of protest, with slogans calling for continued struggle and rejection of humiliation, while drones and security forces monitored the crowd. The raid and simultaneous arrests of several prominent figures point to a planned operation, aimed at nipping in the bud any attempt to transform mourning into political mobilization.

Alongside Mohammadi, human rights organizations are reporting the arrest of several activists, all known for their commitment to defending political prisoners, denouncing prison violence, and promoting women's rights. For the regime, targeting multiple figures simultaneously is a way to send a signal to that segment of civil society that continues to organize despite arrests, convictions, and bans.

Iran, one of the most hostile environments for freedom of expression

Major human rights organizations continue to describe Iran as one of the most repressive countries in the world when it comes to freedom of expression and association. The arrests of activists, journalists, and lawyers, often accompanied by unfair trials and harsh sentences, are not the exception, but the norm. The Mohammadi case is emblematic precisely because it brings together in a single figure many of the conflicting lines that run through the country: the issue of women's rights, the fight against the death penalty, the denunciation of torture and prison conditions, and the rejection of the compulsory veil as a symbol of state interference with women's bodies.

International reactions and the appeal to Europe

News of the new arrest has already sparked initial political reactions in Europe. Members of the Green Party and the Italian environmental left, such as Angelo Bonelli, have called Mohammadi's detention "an act of political violence" and evidence of the Iranian regime's "oppressive and misogynistic" nature, calling on the European Union to "raise its voice" and use all diplomatic and political means to secure the activist's release. This appeal echoes those of international organizations and coalitions of NGOs who have been warning for weeks of the risk of Mohammadi's return to prison and urging Tehran to drop the proceedings against her, return her passport, and allow her to be reunited with her children. The arrest in Mashhad, coming amidst an already tense situation following Alikordi's death, makes that call even more urgent.

The case of Narges Mohammadi thus proves to be a test of the international community's ability to defend those who, from within authoritarian regimes, continue to denounce violence and systematic human rights violations.