‘Women, Life, Freedom!’ Iran Temporarily Releases Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Latest Developments

• Iran Frees Prominent Human Right Activist for 21 Days: The authorities in Tehran released prominent human rights activist Narges Mohammadi on December 4 after she underwent surgery to remove part of a bone in her right foot that may have been cancerous. The regime rejected requests by her family and lawyers for a three-month furlough to facilitate adequate care. She is currently “unable to walk” and her release is “too little, too late,” her family told CNN. Mohammadi, 52, previously endured multiple heart attacks and other ailments while in jail.

• Mohammadi Remains a Steadfast Opponent of the Regime: In a video that began circulating on social media on November 4, Mohammadi emerges from an ambulance sitting up on a stretcher while shouting, “Hello freedom! Women, life, freedom! Freedom is our right! Long live freedom!” Mohammadi, a longtime critic of Iranian laws requiring women to wear the hijab, or headscarf, in public, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.” Her children accepted the award on her behalf in Oslo.

• Mohammadi Has Endured Multiple Prison Terms: Since the 1990s, “the regime has arrested her 13 times, convicted her five times, and sentenced her to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes,” according to the Narges Mohammadi Foundation. She has remained in prison since her last arrest in 2021 on spurious national security charges. In August 2024, prison guards battered her chest so violently that her cellmates believed she experienced cardiac arrest, according to Mohammadi’s husband. She has long campaigned against the regime for engaging in torture and sexual violence against women in Iranian prisons.

FDD Expert Response

“Tehran often plays musical chairs with political prisoners, temporarily releasing and re-detaining them in a bid to dodge the media spotlight and avoid blame for the conditions that the Islamic Republic’s jails have imposed on prisoners. As the case of the anti-regime rapper Toomaj Salehi demonstrates, the regime uses prisoners as pawns amid its larger war with the West and as a vehicle to intimidate its own people.” — Behnam Ben Taleblu, Senior Fellow

“Mohammadi’s open defiance of the regime reminds us of the extraordinary ideological gap that exists between the mullahs and the population. As Tehran renews its crackdown on women with tighter hijab laws, we should remember that the embers of the 2022 Mahsa Amini uprising are still burning — one of the greatest vulnerabilities facing the ayatollahs.” — Richard Goldberg, Senior Advisor

“Mohammadi’s spirited and unwavering opposition to the Islamic Republic offers a reminder that Iranians will continue to lack basic human rights so long as this regime remains in power. The incoming Trump administration should join her in calling for freedom in Iran.” — Tzvi Kahn, Research Fellow and Senior Editor

“The regime views its oppressive control over women as a critical instrument to assert its authoritarian dominance. Despite this, Iranians continue to display remarkable resilience through acts of scattered yet defiant civil disobedience. . At the heart of their resistance lies the struggle for women’s rights, which has become a cornerstone of Iranian civic activism.” — Janatan Sayeh, Research Analyst