An Iranian court has sentenced Nobel Peace Prize laureate and prominent human rights activist Narges Mohammadi to six years in prison on charges of “gathering and collusion to commit crimes,” her lawyer said Sunday, in a ruling that has drawn renewed international concern over Tehran’s treatment of dissenters.
According to her lawyer, Mostafa Nili, Mohammadi was also given an additional 18-month sentence for alleged propaganda activities, a two-year ban on leaving Iran, and ordered into two years of internal exile in the eastern city of Khosf. Under Iranian law, the prison sentences will run concurrently. The verdict can be appealed.
Nili said Mohammadi, who has serious health issues following surgery for a tumour and a bone graft, may seek temporary release on bail to receive medical treatment. Another of her lawyers, Chirinne Ardakani, said the trial was conducted without proper notification and described it as “unfair.”
Mohammadi, 53, has spent much of the past decade in and out of prison for her activism against Iran’s use of the death penalty and compulsory hijab laws. She was last arrested in December in Mashhad after speaking at a memorial ceremony for a lawyer who had been found dead.
Even while incarcerated, Mohammadi has continued to protest, staging demonstrations inside prison and undertaking hunger strikes. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for her long-standing advocacy for human rights, with her children accepting the award on her behalf while she remained behind bars.
Human rights groups say the latest sentence underscores Iran’s ongoing crackdown on activists and critics, as the country continues to rank among the world’s leading executioners.
