Political Prisoner Record

Iran

Narges Mohammadi: UN Working Group opinion and current status

UN Working Group on Arbitrary DetentionOpinion No. 48/2017, adopted 22 August 2017

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that her deprivation of liberty "is arbitrary and falls within categories II, III and V". It recommended her immediate release and an enforceable right to compensation and reparations, and referred the case to two Special Rapporteurs.1

Category IICategory IIICategory V

Read the opinion

Government position

According to the opinion, the Government did not reply to the communication of 12 June 2017 and did not request an extension. Reuters reported in February 2026 that prosecutor Hasan Hematifar said she had encouraged people to chant slogans and "disturb the peace" at a memorial in Mashhad.1,3

Background

According to the opinion, she is a Tehran based human rights defender. A Revolutionary Court sentenced her in 2011, reduced on appeal to six years. She was arrested at her home on 5 May 2015. After a trial hearing on 20 April 2016, a Revolutionary Court sentenced her to 16 years on national security related charges, which she learned of on 17 May 2016, and the sentence was upheld on appeal on 19 September 2016. UN News reported on 11 October 2023 that UN experts called for her release. AFP reported that she had been released in December 2024 on medical grounds.1,2,5

Status now

Arrested on 12 December 2025 in Mashhad, per Reuters and AFP. In February 2026 she was sentenced to six years for assembly and collusion and one and a half years for propaganda, plus two years of internal exile in Khusf and a two year travel ban, per Reuters and AFP. AFP reported that prison terms run concurrently under Iranian law and that her lawyer said the verdict was not final and could be appealed. Reuters reported she was held at a detention centre in Mashhad. Bloomberg also reported the new sentence.3,5,4

As of 9 February 2026.

Findings on this site are those of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, an independent body of experts. Its opinions are not court judgments. Each record includes the government's position where it gave one.

Sources

  1. UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Opinion No. 48/2017 concerning Narges Mohammadi (Islamic Republic of Iran), A/HRC/WGAD/2017/48 (22 September 2017)
  2. UN News, Iran: Rights experts ‘dismayed’ over continued imprisonment of Nobel Laureate Mohammadi (11 October 2023)
  3. Reuters (via Aaj English), Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi handed new 7-year prison term (9 February 2026)
  4. Bloomberg (via The Spokesman-Review), Iran hardens crackdown on political dissidents after U.S. talks (9 February 2026)
  5. AFP (via Dawn), Iran sentences Nobel peace laureate to six years in prison (9 February 2026)