Jailed Iranian Narges Mohammadi wins Nobel Peace Prize

Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi. Pic/AP

Imprisoned activist Narges Mohammadi, who has campaigned for women's rights, democracy and against the death penalty in Iran for years, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. Mohammadi, 51, has done her work despite facing numerous arrests and spending years behind bars for her activism. "This prize is first and foremost a recognition of the very important work of a whole movement in Iran with its undisputed leader, Nargis Mohammadi," said Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee who announced the prize in Oslo. "The impact of the prize is not for the Nobel committee to decide upon. We hope that it is an encouragement to continue the work in whichever form this movement finds to be fitting."

Mohammadi's most recent incarceration began when she was detained in 2021 after she attended a memorial for a person killed in nationwide 2019 protests sparked by an increase in gasoline prices.

She's been held at Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, whose inmates include those with Western ties and political prisoners. Reiss-Andersen said Mohammadi has been imprisoned 13 times and convicted five times. In total, she has been sentenced to 31 years in prison. She is the 19th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the second Iranian woman, after human rights activist Shirin Ebadi won the award in 2003.

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