Iran Sentences Nobel Peace Prize Laureate To More Than 7 Years In Prison

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Prison sentence for Iran Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Muhammadi He will be sentenced to more than seven years in prison after going on a hunger strike, supporters said on Sunday, as Tehran cracked down on all dissidents. protests across the country and the killing of thousands of people by security forces.

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”, exactly the maximalist position he took. After negotiations with the USA 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 the ceremony held in memory 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.

Supporters had warned for months before his arrest in December that Mohammedi, 53, was at risk of being jailed again after the incident. took 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. He also supported the protests launched across the country. 2022 death of Mahsa AminiWe saw women openly defying the government by not wearing headscarves.

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.

“Given his illnesses, he is expected to be released on temporary bail to receive treatment,” Nili 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 news about Mohammedi came as 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 also a major point of contention with Trump. Bombed Iran’s atomic facilities During the Iran-Israel war, which lasted 12 days in June.

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 Massoud Pezeshkian praised Friday’s talks with Americans in Oman as “a step forward,” Araghchi’s words indicate the difficult challenge ahead. The USA has already taken action aircraft carrier USS Abraham LincolnHe will send ships and warplanes to the Middle East to pressure Iran to make 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.”

Araghchi’s choice to explicitly use “atomic bomb” as a rhetorical device was probably not accidental. 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 also increasingly He threatened that the Islamic Republic might search for the bombAlthough diplomats have stated that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s sermons were a binding fatwa, or religious edict, that Iran would not issue such a fatwa.

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 planned to “launch rockets” at an area above the country’s Semnan province from Monday to Tuesday. Imam Khomeini Cosmodrome. Such launches have in the past coincided with Iran’s celebration of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.