Jailed Iranian rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who went on a hunger strike earlier this week, has been admitted to a hospital, the husband of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate told VOA.
Taghi Rahmani revealed that Mohammadi had been moved from Tehran’s Evin Prison to the hospital for medical evaluation.
Mohammadi, 51, had gone on a hunger strike after being blocked together with other inmates from getting medical care and to protest the country’s mandatory hijab law.
In the wake of her hunger strike, the Nobel Committee, the Olof Palme Foundation, and the American PEN Association voiced their deep concerns about her health.
The head of the Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen, released a statement expressing deep concern for the well-being of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Furthermore, she issued a stern warning to the Iranian government to take immediate and essential measures to provide the necessary medical support to Mohammadi and other incarcerated women.
The Olof Palme Foundation of Sweden, which honored Narges Mohammadi with its 2023 prize, sent an open letter strongly imploring the provision of vital medical care for Mohammadi.
The American PEN Association had previously stressed the imperative need for her immediate and unconditional release.
The American PEN Association, through its X account, said, "Hundreds of individuals have fervently requested Narges Mohammadi's release from prison and her reunification with her family through letters. As news of her hunger strike surfaced, apprehensions about her well-being and safety intensified, compelling us to advocate for her unconditional release."
Mohammadi began her activism in the 1990s as a young physics student and was first arrested in 2011 for her work with incarcerated activists and their families.
Her subsequent activism, bringing attention to Iran’s death penalty, torture and sexual violence against political prisoners, especially women, resulted in more arrests.
Last year, as a leader among prisoners, she voiced support for the demonstrators who took to the streets of Iran to protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. Prison officials stopped Mohammadi from receiving calls and visitors, but she managed to have an article she’d written smuggled out of the country and published in The New York Times on September 16, exactly one year after Amini died.
In her latest legal case, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of "anti-government propaganda" and she has been serving her sentence in Evin Prison in Tehran.
