Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has been sentenced to seven and a half more years in prison by an Iranian court, her lawyer confirmed on Sunday. The 53-year-old activist, already serving over a decade behind bars, received six years for “gathering and collusion” and eighteen months for “propaganda activities.”
A Pattern of Persecution
This isn’t new territory for Mohammadi. She’s spent more than 10 years of her life in Iranian prisons. According to the Narges Foundation, this latest ruling brings her total sentenced prison time to 44 years. Let that sink in: 44 years for advocating human rights.
The sentence also includes a two-year travel ban and two years of internal exile to Khusf, a remote region about 740 kilometers southeast of Tehran. The court hearing, held Saturday in Mashhad, was described by supporters as a “sham.”
Hunger Strike and Health Concerns
Mohammadi began a hunger strike on February 2nd. Her lawyer, Mostafa Nili, reported that she was taken to hospital three days ago due to her deteriorating physical condition before being returned to detention. When she attempted to explain the circumstances of her arrest during a phone call, the line was disconnected.
Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, told the BBC that she refused to participate in the court proceedings:
“Though she was likely forced to attend, she remained silent - she did not utter a single word, nor did she sign a single paper.”
He described the sentence as “cruel and very unfair.”
The December Arrest
Mohammadi was arrested in December 2025 while attending a memorial for Khosrow Alikordi, a human rights lawyer found dead under suspicious circumstances. Eyewitnesses reported seeing her attacked by around 15 plainclothes agents who beat her with clubs and batons.
She had been on temporary medical release from Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison since December 2024 after suffering multiple heart attacks and undergoing emergency surgery in 2022. Doctors later found a bone lesion feared to be cancerous, which was removed.
The Bigger Picture
Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for her tireless work against the oppression of women in Iran. She backed the nationwide protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022, which saw women openly defy mandatory hijab laws.
Iran’s crackdown has been brutal. The Human Rights Activists News Agency reports over 50,000 arrests related to the demonstrations and at least 6,961 confirmed deaths.
This sentencing comes as Iran negotiates with the US over its nuclear program to avoid military strikes threatened by President Trump. Iran’s top diplomat struck a defiant tone Sunday, saying Tehran’s strength came from its ability to “say no to the great powers.”
My Take
There’s something particularly galling about timing this sentence while Mohammadi is on a hunger strike, weakened and hospitalized. It’s a message: resistance will be met with more punishment, not less.
But here’s what Iran doesn’t seem to understand: every additional year they pile onto Mohammadi’s sentence doesn’t silence her—it amplifies her. In 2023, she accepted the Nobel Prize from inside prison. Her children, Kiana and Ali, accepted on her behalf while she continued her work from a cell.
Mohammadi has become more than an activist; she’s become a symbol of what the Iranian regime fears most: someone who won’t stop speaking, regardless of the cost.
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