Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian human rights activist and vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), has recently ended a week-long hunger strike she began in protest of her detention. She was detained in December after speaking out against the death of lawyer Khosrow Alikordi. Her legal sentence includes time behind bars, internal exile, a two-year travel ban, and her latest prison term extends for approximately 7.5 years, according to her supporters.
Mohammadi, 53, shared with her lawyer, Mostafa Nili, during a brief phone call from prison that she received her new sentence on Saturday, with her hunger strike concluding on Sunday. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has yet to comment on the situation.
Her arrest coincided with nearly three weeks of anti-government protests that intensified Tehran’s crackdown on dissent starting in late December. She was initially detained on December 12, following her critique of Alikordi’s suspicious death. Prosecutor Hasan Hematifar accused her of making provocative statements during Alikordi’s memorial service in Mashhad and of encouraging slogans that disrupt public order.
Held in a detention center in Mashhad, Mohammadi has described her situation as being under strict isolation, with communication severely limited. Her sentence includes six years for assembly and collusion against national security, one and a half years for propaganda against the government, a two-year internal exile in Khusf, and a two-year ban on traveling outside the country.
Mohammadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while still incarcerated, recognized for her relentless efforts to promote women’s rights and abolish the death penalty in Iran.
