Rights activists have raised renewed concerns over the health of prominent female political prisoners after Nobel Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was transferred to a hospital in Tehran and reports emerged of worsening conditions for jailed activist Fatemeh Sepehri.
Mohammadi was moved to Tehran on Sunday after days of worsening health in prison prompted concern from her family and supporters.
The move came after 10 days of hospitalization in the northwestern city of Zanjan, where Mohammadi had reportedly suffered severe chest, back and arm pain.
According to a statement from her family-run Narges Foundation, authorities temporarily suspended her sentence after setting heavy bail before transferring her to Tehran Pars Hospital.
Mohammadi, one of Iran’s most prominent political prisoners and a longtime critic of the Islamic Republic, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for her activism in support of women’s rights and democracy. She has spent much of the past two decades in and out of prison on charges linked to her activism.
Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, who lives in France, said the transfer was insufficient given the extent of her medical condition.
“Narges Mohammadi’s life hangs in the balance,” Rahmani posted on X. “While she is currently hospitalized following a catastrophic health failure, a temporary transfer is not enough. Narges must never be returned to the conditions that broke her health.”
Mohammadi has long faced health complications during detention, including multiple heart attacks in prison. In 2022, she underwent emergency surgery after officials delayed treatment despite worsening symptoms.
Attention has also focused on Sepehri, another jailed government critic who rights groups say is suffering serious health problems while serving her sentence in Vakilabad prison in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
The 61-year-old activist, who previously underwent open-heart surgery, has spent more than 1,000 days in prison, according to rights activists, with limited access to specialized medical care during that time.
Human rights sources say she has suffered severe drops in blood pressure, irregular heartbeats and chronic pain in her chest and arms. Reports say Sepehri was returned to prison before completing treatment after several short hospitalizations.
Sepehri was first arrested in 2019 after signing a statement known as the “14-person declaration,” which called on then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to step down. She was arrested again during the nationwide protests of 2022 and later sentenced to 18 years in prison by a Revolutionary Court in Mashhad.
In recent days, social media users have circulated a graphic bearing the slogan “Be the voice of Fatemeh Sepehri,” calling for her immediate access to medical care and release from prison.
