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Rabat – Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Narges Mohammadi has been transferred from prison to a hospital in Tehran after authorities granted her a temporary suspension of her sentence on heavy bail, according to a statement from a foundation run by her family.
The 54-year-old activist, who has spent much of the past decade in prison over charges related to national security and propaganda activities, was transferred to Tehran Pars Hospital to receive treatment from her medical team after spending 10 days in a hospital in the northwestern city of Zanjan, the foundation said on Sunday.
Her family and supporters had warned last week that her health was rapidly deteriorating and said she risked dying in custody after suffering two suspected heart attacks earlier this year.
“She is now at Tehran Pars Hospital to be treated by her own medical team,” the foundation said, adding that a temporary suspension of her sentence was “not enough” and calling for her unconditional release.
Mohammadi’s brother, Hamidreza Mohammadi, told the BBC the bail arrangement provided “temporary relief from the certain death that Narges faced in prison” but cautioned that doctors were still assessing the extent of the damage to her health.
“She has been experiencing very serious symptoms that point in the direction of having developed variant angina,” he said, referring to a condition caused by spasms in the coronary arteries that can restrict blood flow to the heart.
Mohammadi’s Paris-based husband, Taghi Rahmani, said in a statement that her “life hangs in the balance.”
“While she is currently hospitalized following a catastrophic health failure, a temporary transfer is not enough. Narges must never be returned to the conditions that broke her health,” he added.
According to her lawyer, Chirinne Ardakani, the activist has lost around 20 kilograms while in prison, has difficulty speaking, and is barely recognizable.
Mohammadi, vice-president of Iran’s Defenders of Human Rights Center, won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for campaigning against the oppression of women in Iran and advocating for human rights.
She began serving a 13-year prison sentence in 2021 after being convicted on charges including “propaganda activity against the state” and “collusion against state security,” accusations she denied.
In February, a Revolutionary Court sentenced her to an additional seven-and-a-half years in prison on charges including “gathering and collusion” and “propaganda activities,” according to her lawyer.
Her family says her condition remains fragile and warned that any return to prison could prove fatal.
