Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi told the Associated Press on Friday that the Iranian people are paying an “extremely heavy price” for ongoing war, deepening economic pressure and continued U.S. sanctions. Mohammadi, 54, was briefly released from prison earlier this year for medical reasons after losing consciousness and being taken to a hospital.
Memoir released amid remembrance of Mahsa Amini
Her memoir, A Woman Never Stops Fighting, was written behind bars and smuggled out in fragments by fellow inmates. Editions in French, German and nine other languages are being released this month, with English and Farsi versions slated for September 2027 to honor the memory of Mahsa Amini, the 22‑year‑old woman whose death in 2022 sparked nationwide protests.
Repression and resistance
Mohammadi said Iranians are confronting multiple crises stemming from the war and economic strain, yet many continue to defy their leaders. She linked this renewed defiance to the 2022 protests that followed Amini’s death. “If you go out into the streets, you see a wave of resistance among the people, a wave of awareness, and their determination to stand up for their rights,” she said, adding that younger Iranians “know their rights” and remain steadfast, which gives her “reason for hope.”
Recent arrest and health concerns
In December, Mohammadi was severely beaten by security forces in Mashhad while attending a memorial for human‑rights lawyer Khosrow Alikordi, who was found dead in his office. She was arrested while delivering a public speech and later sentenced to 16 years in prison and more than 100 lashes for attending the rally. Although she has not been flogged, she spent long periods in solitary confinement. “My detention was really life‑threatening,” she said, noting that most blows were to her head. She lost consciousness on May 1, was hospitalized, released on bail ten days later, and spent another two weeks in a Tehran hospital.
Memoir smuggled out of prison
Mohammadi began writing her memoir in 2019 during an earlier stint in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. After her handwritten notes were lost during a transfer, she and fellow inmates managed to smuggle out a few pages at a time. “If it weren’t for them, I couldn’t have done it,” she said.
Personal background and family
Mohammadi has spent a total of 44 years sentenced across multiple convictions, with ten years already served, including 161 days in solitary confinement. She has been barred from traveling abroad since 2009 and remains separated from her husband and two children, who live in exile in France. “My sentence is currently suspended, and I must return whenever the judiciary issues the order,” she wrote in a text message shared by her team.
Reflections on war and repression
Recalling her childhood during the 1980s Iran‑Iraq war, Mohammadi said she developed a deep hatred for war and remembers the repression, executions and silencing of political currents that occurred in prisons across the country. She also expressed concern when Evin prison was bombed during the 12‑day Israel‑Iran conflict in 2025, describing Iran as being at the intersection of injustice, discrimination, war and authoritarianism, all trampling on human rights.
Original reporting: Alexandria, VA News – WTOP News — read the source article.
