Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner and prominent Iranian human rights activist, is in critical condition after suffering multiple heart attacks while imprisoned in Zanjan, northern Iran. Now 54, Mohammadi has spent much of the past two decades in and out of prison for her activism. She was most recently arrested in December after publicly denouncing the Islamic republic at a lawyer's funeral. Already suffering from a pre-existing heart condition, she experienced two suspected heart attacks on 24 March and 1 May, leading to her hospitalization under guard.

Her health has sharply declined, with reports indicating she has lost 20kg (44lbs), struggles to speak, and is nearly unrecognizable. Her lawyer, Chirinne Ardakani, and advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have issued urgent appeals, stating Mohammadi is 'between life and death' and calling for her transfer to Tehran to be treated by her personal medical team. Despite these pleas, there has been no movement from Iranian authorities.

Mohammadi’s twin teenage children and husband live in Paris, where her legal team is urging French President Emmanuel Macron and the foreign ministry to take stronger diplomatic action. The case has drawn renewed international attention to Iran’s treatment of dissidents and the extreme personal toll of prolonged political imprisonment.