Iran sentences Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi to 7 more years in prison
The new convictions against Mohammedi come as Iran tries to negotiate with the United States over its nuclear program to avert the threat of a military attack by US President Donald Trump. Iran’s top diplomat insisted on Sunday that Tehran’s strength lies in its ability to “say no to the big powers”, striking a maximalist position on the heels of talks with the US in Oman.
Muhammadi’s supporters cited his lawyer who spoke to Muhammadi. Lawyer Mostafa Nili confirmed the sentence against X, saying that the sentence was given by the Revolutionary Court in the city of Mashhad on Saturday. Such courts often issue verdicts in which defendants have little or no chance of contesting the charges.
“He was sentenced to six years for assembly and collusion, one and a half years for propaganda, and a two-year travel ban,” he wrote. The lawyer added that he was sent into internal exile for another two years to the city of Khosf, about 740 kilometers (460 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran.
Agnes Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, wrote in
Iran did not accept the punishment. Supporters say Mohammedi has been on a hunger strike since February 2 and ended his hunger strike on Sunday after receiving a sentence due to his deteriorating health. He was arrested in December at a ceremony held in honor of Khosrow Alikordi, a 46-year-old Iranian lawyer and human rights defender living in Mashhad. Footage from the demonstration shows him shouting and demanding justice for Alikordi and others.
Mohammedi symbol of Iranian activists Supporters had warned for months before his arrest in December that Mohammedi, 53, was at risk of being jailed again after being placed on leave in December 2024 due to medical concerns. Although it was only supposed to last three weeks, Mohammedi’s time out of prison was likely extended as activists and Western powers pressured Iran to release him. He even stayed out during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.
Mohammadi continued his activism through public protests and international media coverage; At one point he even demonstrated outside Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, where he was held.
Mohammedi was imprisoned for 13 years and nine months on charges of collusion against state security and propaganda against the Iranian government. She had also supported the nationwide protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022, where women openly defied the government by not wearing hijab.
His supporters say Muhammadi suffered multiple heart attacks while in prison before undergoing emergency surgery in 2022. His lawyer explained that in late 2024, doctors found a bone lesion they feared might be cancerous, which was later removed.
“Considering his illnesses, he is expected to be temporarily released on bail so that he can receive treatment,” Nili said. he wrote.
However, Iranian officials have been signaling a tougher line against all dissidents since the demonstrations. Speaking on Sunday, Iranian judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made comments suggesting that heavy prison sentences await many people.
“Look at some of the people who were once on the side of the revolution and accompanied it,” he said. “Whatever they say, what they write, what statements they make today, they are unfortunate, miserable (and) they will suffer losses.”
The foreign minister took a harsh tone. The news about Mohammedi came after Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to diplomats at a summit in Tehran, signaled that he would stick to his position that Iran should enrich uranium; This was a major point of contention with Trump, who bombed Iran’s atomic facilities in June during the 12-day Iran-Israel war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to travel to Washington this week and Iran is expected to be the main topic of discussion, his office said.
While Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian praised Friday’s talks with Americans in Oman as “a step forward,” Araghchi’s words indicate the difficult challenge ahead. The United States has already moved the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, its ships and warplanes to the Middle East to pressure Iran into reaching a deal and have the firepower necessary to strike the Islamic Republic if Trump chooses to do so.
“I believe that the secret of the strength of the Islamic Republic of Iran lies in its ability to stand up to the tyranny, domination and oppression of others,” Araghchi said. “Even though we are not after the atomic bomb, they are afraid of our atomic bomb. Our atomic bomb is the power to say no to the great powers. The secret of the power of the Islamic Republic is the power to say no to the great powers.”
‘Atomic bomb’ as a rhetorical device It was probably no coincidence that Araghchi explicitly chose to use an ‘atomic bomb’ as a rhetorical device. While Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program was peaceful, the West and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Tehran had an organized military program to search for the bomb as far back as 2003.
Iran was enriching uranium to up to 60% purity; this was a short and technical step towards 90% weapons grade levels; It was the only non-weapons state to do so. In recent years, Iranian officials have increasingly threatened that the Islamic Republic might investigate the bomb, even as Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, cast his sermons that Iran would not build such a bomb as a binding fatwa, or religious edict.
It remains unclear when and where the second round of nuclear talks will be held, or whether they will be held at all. After the talks Friday, Trump offered few details but said: “Iran seems very interested in making a deal, as it should be.”
Meanwhile, Iran issued a warning to pilots that it was planning a “rocket launch” from Monday to Tuesday at an area over Semnan province, home to the country’s Imam Khomeini Cosmodrome. Such launches have in the past coincided with Iran’s celebration of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
