Nobel Peace Prize Winner Narges Mohammadi has gone on hunger strike, her family says. The Iranian activist has been detained since 2016; her most recent charge is “membership in an illegal organization.”
Mohammadi’s husband, Taghi Rahmani, and three daughters informed Amnesty International that she was on hunger strike. The organization believes the hunger strike is an act of protest against her detention and her mistreatment by Iranian authorities.
Mohammadi had been an advocate for environmental and women’s rights since 2001, when she first founded the newly-minted Center for Human Rights Defenders in Tehran. Organizations of which she was part of have widely defended prisoner’s rights in Iran, something which Rahmani indicated had attracted the ire of Iran’s government.
Unfortunately, it is not the first time the activist finds herself locked in prison. In fact, Narges Mohammadi had already been temporarily released in 2015, after serving six years in jail in connection with various activities on behalf of prisoners’ rights.
Mohammadi has become an icon of civil unrest in Iran. Many believe the charges brought against her are false and politically motivated. Global demonstrations against the case, her mistreatment, and continued detention.are taking place.
Iranian opposition members of parliament, for their part, addressed a letter to the country’s Ministry of Intelligence roundly condemning Mohammadi’s ongoing imprisonment.
The international community is increasingly preoccupied with the plight of Narges Mohammadi and is calling to make sure her rights are respected and that she is immediately and unconditionally released.
Mohammadi is a committed advocate for social justice and her plight has become increasingly important. Amnesty International has declared her a prisoner of conscience and demanded the Iranian government end her detention immediately.
For now, the situation of Narges Mohammadi remains unclear. Hopefully, it will be a matter of days before an international campaign of solidarity will help her obtain freedom and justice.