Who Is Narges Mohammadi, the Iranian Nobel Peace Laureate in Detention?

Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and prominent Iranian human rights activist, was violently detained on Friday after addressing a memorial ceremony in Mashhad for lawyer Khosrow Alikordi, who died under suspicious circumstances earlier this month.

According to Mohammadi’s foundation, she was attacked by plainclothes agents with repeated baton blows to her head and neck, requiring two emergency room visits, and her physical condition was reported as poor during a brief call to her family.

She remains in detention without clarity on which security authority is holding her, and has been accused, according to her, of “cooperating with the Israeli government,” though Iranian authorities have not confirmed any charges.

The arrests at the ceremony also included fellow activists such as Sepideh Gholian and Alikordi’s brother, Javad, with rights groups describing Alikordi’s death as suspicious and demanding an investigation.

The international response has been swift, with civil society activists, including Nobel-winning filmmaker Jafar Panahi, calling for Mohammadi’s immediate release, and the Nobel Committee condemning her detention as brutal.

Mohammadi, who has spent most of the past decade in and out of prison and was temporarily released in December 2024 for medical reasons, had been actively campaigning despite restrictions, openly defying mandatory hijab rules and addressing crowds from atop a car.