Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi hospitalised after cardiac emergency

The 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has been hospitalised following a cardiac-related emergency, according to reports on Sunday.

Mohammadi was awarded the prize in 2023 "for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all". 

In its announcement, the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo had said that it "also recognises the hundreds of thousands of people who, in the preceding year, have demonstrated against Iran’s theocratic regime’s policies of discrimination and oppression targeting women".

 "The motto adopted by the demonstrators – 'Woman – Life – Freedom' – suitably expresses the dedication and work of Narges Mohammadi," it had said.

Mohammadi, who is currently in prison and is also the deputy head of the Defenders of Human Rights Center founded by fellow Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, has been arrested 13 times previously, convicted five times and sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes.

Her activism against the death penalty led to her re-arrest in 2015, and to a sentence of additional years behind walls.

A wave of protests in Iran in 2022 became known to the political prisoners held inside the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. 

"From captivity, Mohammadi has helped to ensure that the protests have not ebbed out," the Norwegian Nobel Committee had said.

In September 2022, Mahsa Jina Amini was killed in Iranian morality police’s custody, triggering political demonstrations against Iran’s regime.

(with inputs from syndicated feed)