Narges Mohammadi, the Iranian human rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, says she’s been warned of “physical elimination” by her government, according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
The committee, which awarded her the 2023 Peace Prize for championing women’s rights in Iran, revealed that she had received indirect warnings via regime representatives and her legal team.
Chair Jorgen Watne Frydn expressed serious concern, stating he was “alarmed” by the threat and worried for “all Iranian citizens with a critical voice”.
Iran’s foreign ministry has yet to address the accusations.
According to the committee’s statement, “The threats conveyed to Ms Mohammadi make it clear that her security is at stake, unless she commits to end all public engagement within Iran, as well as any international advocacy or media appearances in support of democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression.”
Despite being imprisoned in Tehran’s Evin facility since 2021, Ms Mohammadi was named Nobel laureate while serving a 10-year sentence. Her children accepted the award on her behalf last year.
The committee previously acknowledged that her fight against gender-based repression in Iran came at an “immense personal cost”.
Her foundation reports that she has been detained on 13 occasions, found guilty in five trials, and handed combined prison terms exceeding 30 years.
In late 2024, she was briefly released on health grounds.
Over the years, Western intelligence services have identified a growing number of attempts by Iranian authorities to silence opposition voices abroad—including through kidnappings and assassination plots.
The UK government recently issued a warning about what it called a “rising” and increasingly unpredictable threat from Iran.
A parliamentary intelligence panel detailed an investigation covering Iran’s covert operations, including assassinations, surveillance, cyberattacks, and its controversial nuclear activities, based on evidence collected up to August 2023.
The report noted a “sharp increase” in threats targeting regime critics inside the United Kingdom.
Iran’s embassy in London dismissed the findings of the report.
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