DUBAI (Reuters) – According to the activist HRANA news agency, Narges Mohammadi, the imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner, has initiated a hunger strike on Monday as a protest against the jail’s alleged failure to provide her with access to medical care.
Tehran’s theocratic leaders, who accused the Nobel committee of meddling and politicizing human rights, were rebuked when the women’s rights advocate was granted the award on Oct. 6.
HRANA reported that last week, authorities denied allowing the 51-year-old to visit the hospital for heart and lung treatment because she declined to wear a mandatory headscarf during the visit. The news agency did not reveal its sources.
Upon a Reuters request for comment, Iran’s judiciary did not offer an immediate response.
“Mohammadi has commenced a hunger strike to express her dissatisfaction with the authorities’ failure to address her demands, including their refusal to transfer her to a specialized hospital,” HRANA declared.
“This deprivation persists based on the prison authorities’ directives,” HRANA further added.
Throughout her life, Mohammadi has been arrested on more than twelve occasions, and this is her third imprisonment in Iran’s Evin prison since 2012. She is serving multiple sentences amounting to approximately 12 years in prison on charges such as spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic.
The Free Narges Mohammadi campaign expressed concern regarding her physical condition and health through X, formerly known as Twitter.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
