Iranian human rights activist, Narges Mohammadi has emerged winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2023.
The Nobel Peace Committee in a press release shared by the Committee on Friday noted that she was credited for her fight against the oppressive policies of the Iranian government against women in the country.
The release read in part: “The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2023 to Narges Mohammadi for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all. Her brave struggle has come with tremendous personal costs.
“Altogether, the regime has arrested her 13 times, convicted her five times, and sentenced her to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes”.
The Committee added that the 2023 Peace Prize was also dedicated to “hundreds of thousands of people who, in the preceding year, have demonstrated against the theocratic regime’s policies of discrimination and oppression targeting women”.
Narges’ first arrest was in 1998 which led to a year imprisonment. She was again detained in 2010 for being a member of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, DHRC, but was released after a month due to medical issues. A year later, she was arrested again for “acting against national security” and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
After her release in 2012, her activism against the death penalty in Iran led to another arrest and a ten-year prison sentence in 2015. She did not relent in her activism as she criticized the government for the alleged sexual abuse and ill-treatment she and other prisoners suffered during their time in prison.
In May 2021, she was arrested again after a criminal court in Tehran found her guilty of several charges one of which was “spreading propaganda against the system”. She was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison, 80 lashes, and two separate fines.
Narges has remained in prison since then, despite several calls for her release. While still serving her sentence, she is the current vice president of the DHRC which is headed by fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi.
