Rights groups condemn the reported re-arrest of Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi in Iran and demand her immediate release.
MASHHAD: International human rights groups have condemned the reported re-arrest of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi in Iran.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee called on Iranian authorities to immediately clarify Mohammadi’s whereabouts and ensure her safety.
Mohammadi’s French lawyer, Chirine Ardakani, stated the activist was arrested on Friday after denouncing the suspicious death of lawyer Khosrow Alikordi at his memorial.
Iranian authorities have not yet confirmed her arrest.
Mashhad’s city governor Hasan Hosseini told state television that prosecutors ordered the temporary detention of several ceremony participants.
He did not name Mohammadi specifically.
A viral video purports to show Mohammadi, 53, without the mandatory veil, standing on a car and chanting “Long Live Iran” to a crowd.
Ardakani claimed Mohammadi was beaten before her arrest, and her current location is unknown.
Reporters Without Borders said four journalists and other participants were also arrested at the memorial.
Alikordi was found dead in his office on December 5, with authorities citing a heart attack.
Rights groups have demanded an investigation into his death.
Hosseini stated detentions followed what authorities called “norm-breaking” slogans at the ceremony.
A rights agency reported the crowd also chanted “death to the dictator,” a reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mohammadi, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner, has spent over 10 years in prison on various charges.
She was most recently imprisoned from November 2021 on charges including “propaganda against the state.”
Mohammadi had been on a health-related furlough since December last year.
