Iranian woman jailed for rights work wins Nobel Peace prize

Imprisoned Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi has won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize.

Announcing the decision, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said Ms Mohammadi, 51, was honoured for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran. Her struggle has come at a “tremendous personal cost”, committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said.

Ms Mohammadi is currently serving a 10-year jail term in Iran’s notorious Evin prison in the capital, Tehran.

Iran has responded by accusing the Nobel committee of meddling. State news agency IRNA said giving the prize to a “person who has been convicted under the laws of a country and is currently serving a prison sentence can only be called politicising the concept of human rights and acting in a meddling manner”.

At Friday’s ceremony in Oslo, Ms Reiss-Andersen said the prestigious award was given to Ms Mohammadi for “her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all”. She began her address with the words “woman – life – freedom” – a reference to the motto of recent mass protests sweeping Iran. She went on to describe the prize as recognition of the hundreds of thousands of Iranians who have demonstrated over the past year against the “theocratic regime’s policies of discrimination and oppression targeting women” – a movement headed, she said, by the new Nobel prize winner.

Millions of Iranians will be cheering this award along with human rights activists around the world. The Nobel committee decision also sends a very strong signal of disapproval to the Iranian authorities.

At the ceremony, Ms Reiss-Andersen also urged Iran to release Ms Mohammadi from jail so she could attend the prize ceremony in December. “If the Iranian authorities make the right decision they will release her so she can be present to receive this honour, which is what we primarily hope for.” But it seems highly unlikely that the activist will actually be able to pick up her prize.

The UN said the award highlighted “the courage and determination of the women of Iran and how they are an inspiration to the world”.

(BBC)