Jailed Activist Narges Mohammadi's Kids Accept Her Nobel Peace Prize
Narges Mohammadi has been sentenced to 10 years in Evin Prison for "spreading propaganda" in Iran as a human rights activist. This is her 13th arrest, but she continues to fight with a hunger strike in jail in solidarity with Iran's minorities
Left: Narges Mohammadi's children show solidarity with their mother's activism while accepting her Nobel Peace Prize in an Oslo ceremony. Image: Reuters
An empty chair stood as a symbol of resilience and unwavering fight at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Oslo, as this year's Nobel Peace laureate, Narges Mohammadi is in jail. The Iranian activist's twin children and younger brother accepted the award on her behalf on December 10, while her husband lives in exile in Paris. “She is in prison and she will be on a hunger strike in solidarity with a religious minority but we feel her presence here,” her younger brother, Hamidreza Mohammadi, said as he was handed her award.
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Mohammadi is serving a 10-year jail sentence and smuggled her speech out of prison. Her children read out, "The Iranian people, with perseverance, will overcome repression and authoritarianism... Have no doubt, this is certain." Mohammadi's determination to fight for the rights of Iran's people, especially women, despite her 13th arrest since the first in 2010, earned her the Nobel Peace Prize.
Image: Reuters
Acceptance Speech
Mohammadi's children, who live in Paris with their father and haven't seen her in years, accepted the prize on her behalf. The prize includes a cheque for 11 million Swedish Krona (about Rs 8.75 crores). The 17-year-olds read out the acceptance speech which Mohammadi sent from prison, where she addressed Iran as a "tyrannical" government.
Image: Reuters
"I write this message from behind the high, cold walls of a prison," Mohammadi wrote, praising the young Iranians who she said have "transformed the streets and public spaces into a place of widespread civil resistance... The resistance is alive and the struggle is not weakening. Resistance and non-violence are our best strategies. It is the same difficult path that Iranians have walked until today, thanks to their historical consciousness and their collective will."
In solidarity with Iran's minority religious group, Baha'i, Narges Mohammadi said that she is starting a hunger strike. “On International Human Rights Day, 10th of December, I will also go on a hunger strike in protest against violations of human rights in Iran and solidarity with the hunger strike of Baha’i women prisoners in Evin Prison,” her letter further read.
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Hunger Strike
Mohammadi began a hunger strike in early November too, over not receiving medical care as well as to protest the country's mandatory hijab law. The Free Narges Mohammadi campaign said that she had sent a message from Evin Prison stating that she had begun the campaign several hours ago, demanding required medical care for all the inmates.
The campaign stated that Mohammadi and her lawyers were denied her transfer to a specialised medical facility after they attempted for several weeks. The campaign did not state the exact condition that the 51-year-old activist is suffering from but mentioned that she requested lung and heart care and has to receive an echocardiogram.
The statement read, “Narges went on a hunger strike today protesting two things: The Islamic Republic’s policy of delaying and neglecting medical care for sick inmates, resulting in the loss of the health and lives of individuals. The policy of ‘death’ or ‘mandatory hijab’ for Iranian women." It added that the Islamic Republic “is responsible for anything that happens to our beloved Narges.”
Iranian officials and its state-controlled television network did not immediately acknowledge Mohammadi's hunger strike, which is common with cases involving activists there.
Another activist currently in Evin Prison, human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, was neglected too, upon asking for medical attention for prolonged headaches following head injuries suffered at the time of her arrest.
Mohammadi's Persistent Activism Against Iran's Theocracy
Iranian women are required by the State's Islamic law to always cover their hair with a hijab. Narges Mohammadi has for years been the face of several protests and campaigns to challenge this theocratic law despite several arrests and years behind bars. Mohammadi's hunger strike comes only a month after her Nobel Peace Prize win.
She has remained a leading light against protests and rallies following Mahsa Amini's death. 22-year-old Amini had been detained for allegedly wearing a loose hijab and died in police custody. In October, teenager Armita Geravand died weeks after she suffered a head injury after an altercation with the Iranian police, over not wearing a hijab in the metro. 60-year-old Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested from the funeral for Geravand, with other peaceful gatherers.
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