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Iranian security forces violently detained Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi on Friday during a memorial service for a lawyer whose suspicious death has drawn international scrutiny, according to her supporters and family members.
Mohammadi, 53, was arrested alongside several other activists at the ceremony honoring Khosrow Alikordi in the eastern city of Mashhad, her foundation announced on social media. The human rights advocate had been granted temporary release from prison just weeks earlier in December 2024.
Taghi Rahmani, Mohammadi's husband who lives in Paris, confirmed the arrest and said prominent activist Sepideh Gholian was also detained at the gathering.
The ceremony marked seven days since Alikordi's death, following Islamic tradition. The 45-year-old lawyer, who represented clients in politically sensitive cases including individuals arrested during the 2022 nationwide protests, was found dead in his office on December 5.
Norway-based Iran Human Rights described the circumstances surrounding his death as carrying "very serious suspicion of a state murder," and rights organizations have called for an independent investigation.
Footage circulated by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency showed Mohammadi at the memorial without wearing the headscarf required of women in the Islamic republic. The video captured attendees chanting slogans including "Long live Iran," "We fight, we die, we accept no humiliation," and "Death to the dictator."
Additional footage broadcast by Persian-language television channels operating outside Iran depicted Mohammadi standing atop a vehicle with a microphone, leading the crowd in chants.
Mohammadi has spent much of the past decade in Iranian prisons. She was last arrested in November 2021 before her recent temporary release. The activist received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while incarcerated, with her twin children accepting the award on her behalf in Oslo.
She has not seen her children in 11 years. Last month, Mohammadi revealed in a message marking her twins' 19th birthday that Iranian authorities have permanently barred her from leaving the country.
Despite the restrictions, Mohammadi has maintained her activism during her temporary release, appearing at public gatherings without the mandatory headscarf, addressing international audiences through video conferences, and meeting with activists throughout Iran. She has consistently predicted the eventual collapse of the clerical system that has governed Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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