Imprisoned Iranian Activist Narges Mohammadi Transferred to Hospital in Critical Condition

Jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi remained in critical condition in a cardiac care unit in northwestern Iran on Sunday, May 3, 2026, two days after her transfer from prison to a hospital in Zanjan. The Narges Mohammadi Foundation reported that her blood pressure continued to fluctuate dangerously that day.

Treatment was limited to oxygen therapy to stabilize her condition.

Mohammadi was urgently transferred from prison to the hospital on Friday after experiencing two episodes of complete loss of consciousness and a severe cardiac crisis. She fainted twice in prison in Zanjan, northwestern Iran, that day. Her blood pressure experienced severe fluctuations, going very high and low, before she suddenly fainted due to a sudden drop in blood pressure.

The prison doctor injected Mohammadi with drugs after her first fainting episode on Friday. She refused to be transferred to a hospital at that point, demanding to see her cardiologist. A few hours later, she fainted again, prompting a neurologist to order her immediate transfer to the hospital, where she was admitted to the cardiac care unit.

A medical official in Zanjan recommended a one-month suspension of Mohammadi's sentence for treatment. The public prosecutor in Zanjan referred the suspension recommendation to his counterpart in Tehran. The transfer occurred after 140 days of systematic medical neglect since her arrest on December 12, and prison doctors determined her condition could not be managed on-site despite standing medical recommendations for treatment by her specialized team in Tehran.

Mohammadi suffered a suspected heart attack on March 24, when fellow inmates found her unconscious. A prison doctor told her upon examination that she probably had a heart attack. She appeared pale, underweight, and needed a nurse to help her walk during a visit by her lawyers a few days after March 24.

After the March 24 incident, Mohammadi was denied transfer to the hospital or to visit her cardiologist, according to her legal representative in France, Chirinne Ardakani. A prison official was present throughout the brief visit by her lawyers. Her family stated that she was suffering from low blood pressure and had a heart attack on Saturday.

Mohammadi has previous conditions including pulmonary embolism, stenting, and angiography, according to her brother Hamidreza Mohammadi. He lives in Oslo, Norway, and stated that his family in Iran is doing everything they can but prosecutors in Zanjan are blocking everything.

Hamidreza Mohammadi added that prison officials refused to transfer her to a hospital despite her history of cardiac, lung, and blood pressure problems.

The transfer came after 140 days of arbitrary detention and persistent denial of specialized healthcare, the Narges Mohammadi Foundation said. Mohammadi was taken from prison in northwest Iran to a local hospital after a sharp deterioration in her health, her family reported.

She was found unconscious by fellow inmates at Zanjan Prison in northwest Iran last month after suffering a suspected heart attack.

Mohammadi, 53, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while in prison, becoming the fifth laureate to receive the award while incarcerated. Conflicting reports list her age as 54, according to her family. She has been arrested 13 times over her lifetime and sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes, the foundation stated.

Mohammadi began serving a 13-year sentence in 2021 on charges of propaganda activity against the state and collusion against state security. Prior to December 12, she had been serving a sentence of 13 years and nine months on charges of collusion against state security and propaganda against Iran's government but was released on furlough since late 2024 over medical concerns.

During that furlough, Mohammadi continued her activism with public protests and international media appearances, including demonstrating in front of Tehran's Evin Prison.

She was given a temporary release from Tehran's Evin prison in December 2024 on medical grounds. Mohammadi was arrested in Mashhad last December after giving a speech at the memorial ceremony of a fellow human rights activist. Mohammadi was arrested in December during a visit to the eastern Iranian city of Mashhad after denouncing the death of lawyer Khosrow Alikordi.

Prosecutor Hasan Hematifar stated that Mohammadi made provocative remarks at Khosrow Alikordi's memorial ceremony. She was taken to hospital after being beaten during her arrest in December, her family said. Multiple men hit and kicked Mohammadi in her side, head, and neck during her arrest in December.

Her health was worsening in prison in February, in part because of the beating she endured during her arrest. A Revolutionary Court in Mashhad sentenced her to an additional seven years in February.

Mohammadi was transferred without warning to Zanjan prison the week after her February sentencing. Mohammadi was sentenced to seven more years in prison after her arrest in December.

Mohammadi suffered multiple heart attacks while imprisoned before undergoing emergency surgery in 2022, her supporters say. She was transferred to a hospital in Zanjan province on Friday following a catastrophic deterioration in her health, the foundation reported.