Iranian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi is in imminent danger after suffering a suspected heart attack in prison. Her brother Hamidreza Mohammadi, based in Norway, told the BBC that the 53-year-old was found unconscious in her bed at Zanjan Prison last week by fellow inmates.

Hamidreza Mohammadi emphasized that Narges was taken to the prison infirmary, but officials refused to transfer her to a hospital despite her history of heart and lung problems. She also suffers from severe blood pressure fluctuations. Her brother demanded her immediate release for a thorough medical examination.

Hamidreza Mohammadi noted that strikes and explosions near the prison since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran a month ago have only added to her stress. He stated: "This war has had a terrible effect on prisoners in Iran. If the prison gets hit, if the prisoners need immediate medical attention, they will not get anything and their lives are in danger."

Narges Mohammadi was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her activism against female oppression in Iran and promoting human rights. She has spent more than a decade in prison and in 2021 began serving a 13-year sentence on charges of "propaganda activity against the state" and "collusion against state security", which she denied.

In December 2024, she was given a temporary release from Tehran's notorious Evin prison on medical grounds, but continued campaigning while undergoing treatment and was arrested in Mashhad last December after giving a speech at a memorial ceremony for a fellow human rights activist. Her family said she was taken to hospital after being beaten on the head and neck during the arrest.

Following protests against Iran's clerical establishment, in February 2025, Mohammadi was sentenced by a Revolutionary Court in Mashhad to an additional seven and a half years in prison for "gathering and collusion" and "propaganda activities". She was transferred without warning the following week to Zanjan prison and has been allowed only limited communication with her family since then.

The Free Narges Coalition said on Tuesday that her general health was extremely poor, and she appeared pale and weak with significant weight loss. The coalition also cited cellmates as saying that on March 24 she "was found unconscious in her bed, with her eyes rolled back", and this lasted more than an hour.

Hamidreza Mohammadi highlighted that under Iranian law, in wartime, when authorities cannot guarantee the safety of prisoners, especially those not dangerous to society, they must be allowed to leave prison until the war is over. He stated: "But not only have they not done it, they have denied all political prisoners any medical attention, and their excuse is 'it is wartime'. So our demand is that she immediately be released for a thorough medical examination."

Source: www.bbc.com