2023 Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Political Prisoner Narges Mohammadi from Iran

The 2023 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist imprisoned in Iran. She is the second Iranian to receive the Nobel Peace Prize after Shirin Ebadi. The Nobel Peace Committee in Norway announced on Friday that the award was given to Ms. Mohammadi for her role in combating the oppression of women in Iran and her fight for human rights and freedom for all. Britt Reis Andersen, the chair of the Nobel Committee in Oslo, stated that Narges Mohammadi fights against the systematic discrimination and oppression faced by women. She added that the slogan 'Women, Life, Freedom' in the protests in Iran reflects Ms. Mohammadi's selflessness. Narges Mohammadi, born in 1972 in Zanjan, has been arrested and imprisoned multiple times over the past two decades. She is currently imprisoned for her human rights activities in Iran. In the mid-1990s, she worked as a journalist for the magazine Payam Hajar. In the late 1990s, she joined the Center for the Defense of Human Rights, which was headed by Shirin Ebadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003. Ms. Mohammadi later became the vice president of this center. After the protests of 2009, she was prosecuted by the Revolutionary Court and sentenced to six years in prison in 2011. This prison term led to her mental health issues, and she was transferred to the hospital in 2012. Following medical certification, she was eventually released. Shortly after, her meeting with Catherine Ashton, the then EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, made headlines, and in May 2014, Narges Mohammadi was arrested again by the Islamic Republic's intelligence service. In this case, she was harassed due to her various human rights activities, including launching the Legam campaign (a gradual abolition of the death penalty), and even the Tehran prosecutor ordered that she be prevented from contacting her children from prison. Her sentence was finalized in 2015, and she was sentenced to a total of 16 years in prison by Judge Salavati. Ms. Mohammadi's father recounted her torture and bruises after one of their meetings. In March 2020, while Narges Mohammadi was imprisoned, two more cases were opened against her. She was accused of making false claims about torture and also charged with 'disrupting prison order by singing loudly.' After five and a half years in prison, she was released in October 2020 after contracting COVID-19. In 2021, Narges Mohammadi was arrested again by the Islamic Republic's judiciary. In addition to charges such as propaganda against the regime, several new cases were opened against her in prison for 'sit-ins in the prison office' and 'disobedience to the prison authorities' and 'destruction of glass' and 'defamation,' but Ms. Mohammadi stated that she does not recognize the sentences issued for these charges and will refuse to comply. Ms. Mohammadi has conducted several important human rights investigations and disclosures in Iran. Among them, she has a writing titled 'White Torture,' which discusses sexual and non-sexual torture of women prisoners, including herself, Atena Daemi, Nazanin Zaghari, Hengameh Shahidi, Reyhaneh Tabatabai, and Shokoofeh Yadollahi in the Islamic Republic, along with the names of some torturers. Before the protests last year, which were in response to the killing of Mahsa Amini, Narges Mohammadi wrote in a letter to the head of the Islamic Republic's judiciary in July 2022 opposing compulsory hijab: 'The efforts of Iranian women to have the right to choose their attire is not indecency but a righteous struggle and a courageous fight.' In the 2017 elections, Ms. Mohammadi participated while in prison and, according to her husband, voted for the Hope list endorsed by reformists, but in 2019, she announced in a statement that out of respect for the blood of those killed in the November 2019 protests, she would not participate in the elections. Narges Mohammadi is among the political and civil activists who, in February 2018, declared the irreformability of the Islamic Republic and called for a referendum supervised by the United Nations in Iran. Ms. Mohammadi has previously received awards for her human rights activities, including the PEN America Freedom to Write Award in 2023, the United Nations Press Freedom Award in 2023, the Reporters Without Borders Courage Medal in 2022, and the Sakharov Prize in 2018. It was previously reported that in 2020, Ms. Mohammadi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize along with a Saudi human rights activist. Ms. Mohammadi married Taghi Rahmani, a writer and political activist, in 1999, and they have two children. Mr. Rahmani and their children live outside Iran. The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Narges Mohammadi has been welcomed by many figures and activists, as well as political, civil, professional, and human rights organizations. Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and head of the Center for the Defense of Human Rights, wrote: 'After 20 years, the Nobel Committee has once again chosen an Iranian for the award' and added: 'Narges Mohammadi, the honorable spokesperson of the Center for the Defense of Human Rights, rightly deserves this award. She has devoted years of her life to the struggle for freedom, equality, and the protection of human rights, and today, instead of being able to witness the achievements of her struggle, she is behind bars.' Hamed Esmaeilioun, a member of the Association of Families of Victims of Flight PS752, reacted to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Narges Mohammadi by stating: 'What can be learned from you is perseverance and steadfastness in the struggle. The dark-minded rulers of our country could not and cannot stop your fight for human rights, especially women's rights, for freedom and justice, and human dignity, with whips and prisons.' He added: 'Public opinion undoubtedly demands your freedom and that of all political and ideological prisoners, and I believe it is the duty of all democratic governments to exert political pressure on the Islamic Republic to secure your release from prison and facilitate your presence to receive the award.' Masih Alinejad, a journalist and political activist, also congratulated Narges Mohammadi on receiving this award, stating: 'She has not ceased her efforts for human rights and democracy even from inside prison.' She congratulated the awarding of this prize to Narges Mohammadi and 'all freedom seekers who fight against wickedness, oppression, and corruption for a brighter tomorrow.' Nazanin Boniadi, a human rights activist and actress, described Narges Mohammadi as 'a fierce and persistent defender of human rights in Iran' who is imprisoned due to her courageous activities. The Iran Human Rights Organization welcomed the awarding of this prize to Ms. Mohammadi, expressing hope that the Nobel Peace Prize would bring more attention from the international community to the struggle of the Iranian people for the realization of fundamental human rights. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of the Iran Human Rights Organization, also noted: 'Narges Mohammadi has fought against gender apartheid, the death penalty, and discrimination against minorities for over 25 years and has paid a heavy price for this struggle.' He added: 'The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Narges Mohammadi recognizes the struggle of the Iranian people for their fundamental rights. The awarding of this prize on the day that Armita Garavand is in a coma due to not wearing a compulsory hijab serves as a reminder of the oppression faced by Iranian women and girls daily from the Islamic Republic.' Atena Daemi, a human rights activist and former political prisoner, also noted on social media that '44 years have passed since the relentless struggle of women against the misogynistic government of the Islamic Republic,' writing: 'Certainly, attention to human rights, women's rights, and the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Narges Mohammadi will amplify the voice of the rightful demand for 'Women, Life, Freedom' and increase hope for victory, the realization of human rights, and the establishment of justice.' Taraneh Alidoosti, an actress, also wrote in an Instagram post: 'Freedom will come, as evidenced by the footsteps left by a woman like you on this soil. Freedom will come because a woman like you cannot be imprisoned.' The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions congratulated Narges Mohammadi and all compatriots and justice seekers around the world on receiving this valuable human rights award. The Iranian Retirees Council also stated: 'Ms. Mohammadi has been imprisoned multiple times over the past two decades due to her civil activities, including criticizing the suppression of protests, supporting political prisoners, opposing the death penalty, and defending citizens' rights, and she is currently in prison.' Mohammad Seifzadeh, a lawyer, also congratulated Narges Mohammadi and expressed hope that 'this award will pave the way for freedom, comfort, prosperity, and peace for all the people of Iran.' Golshifteh Farahani, a famous Iranian actress, also congratulated Narges Mohammadi on her Nobel Peace Prize win on her Instagram account, calling her 'one of the bravest women in the world.' Additionally, Katayoun Riahi, an actress, shared the news of the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to Narges Mohammadi on her Instagram story, writing: 'An honor that is in chains.' Ms. Riahi was one of the first artists to remove her compulsory hijab and supported the protests of the Iranian people and was also detained for a while.