Security personnel arrested the Iranian human rights campaigner and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi at a memorial held in the eastern city of Mashhad, which gave rise to severe disapproval from international monitors. Mohammadi was among the nine or more activists detained during the function dedicated to the recently passed lawyer Khosrow Alikordi, whose death has raised doubts and concerns among the defenders of rights.
Why Is The Arrest Of Narges Mohammadi Called Brutal?
Supporters and her foundation called the operation a ‘brutal’ arrest, emphasizing that Mohammadi was claimed to have been beaten and dragged by her hair, which was also the case according to her brother and human rights organizations. The Norwegian Nobel Committee condemned the confinement of the activist in the strongest terms and demanded the Iranian government to reveal the place where Mohammadi is held, and to look after her very well as a human being with dignity, at the same time calling for her release without any conditions and with immediate effect.
The committee also made a note of the arrest at a coincidental time because it occurred just after the event in Oslo for the Nobel Peace Prize of the year 2025 which awarded the Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. The Iranian authorities, on the contrary, claimed that the people being taken into custody were those who had been inciting with their slogans and the like which are considered intolerable by the public. Human rights activists assert that the detentions are a vivid proof of the grave infringement of the basic rights and liberties of the people in Iran and the government’s continuous oppression of dissenting voices.
Narges Mohammadi’s Battle
At 53, Mohammadi has come to represent the battle of Iran against the violation of human rights and the oppression of women mainly due to the long imprisonment she was subjected to for her activism and on various charges. Her imprisonments and health problems which attracted international attention included heart and lung problems, even her twins received the Nobel Prize for her in 2023. Opponents maintain that the latest arrest is a signal of the Iranian government’s absolute intolerance towards peaceful protests and that it is a part of a troubling pattern of repression of activists.
