Narges Mohammadi's First Interview with the Nobel Committee: I Won't Let Prison Silence Me

Narges Mohammadi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner currently on temporary medical leave from Evin Prison, stated in a video call with the Nobel Committee on Thursday, December 13, "Although I can do more outside of prison, I will not allow prison to silence me." The Nobel Committee shared the video of this conversation with Agence France-Presse. In her remarks, Mohammadi emphasized that "commitment to women's rights, human rights, and freedom cannot be confined by any prison walls," asserting, "Defending human rights and women's rights is not a crime." She also condemned the "silent massacre of political prisoners" by the Islamic Republic, stating, "I must be free to continue my work." The Nobel Peace Prize winner added that even if the Islamic Republic could silence her, nothing would change for her, as "the people of Iran have risen up." The United Nations, the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and other organizations and individuals have called for her unconditional and permanent release. Jürgen Watne Fredriksen, the head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo, a movement of survivors of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, urging the Islamic Republic to end Mohammadi's permanent imprisonment. Narges Mohammadi was temporarily released from prison for three weeks to address medical issues following a "tumor operation and bone marrow transplant." A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, in response to her temporary release, told the Persian section of Voice of America, "We once again call for the immediate and unconditional release of Narges Mohammadi and other political prisoners who are unjustly imprisoned." Mohammadi, who has been arrested and imprisoned multiple times over the past two decades, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for "propaganda against the regime" and is currently held in Evin Prison in Tehran. This human rights activist has faced numerous fabricated cases by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic during her imprisonment. The U.S. has called for the immediate and permanent release of Narges Mohammadi, the Nobel Committee has demanded her "permanent freedom," and the UN fact-finding committee has called for her immediate release. Hundreds of civil activists have urged Emmanuel Macron to work for Mohammadi's freedom.