The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner affirmed that the arrest of the Iranian activist, who precedes her in the award, is a deliberate attempt to silence a key voice of human rights. He called for a firm and coordinated international response to the repression
The Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi was detained “violently” this Friday during the tribute to Khosrow Alikordi, a human rights lawyer who died last week, according to her foundation.
Mohammadi, 53, was arrested “violently” by Iranian security forces, the foundation said in a message on X, in which it specified that it has received “credible information” about this fact. He added that along with the Nobel Prize, activists Asadollah Fakhimi, Akbar Amini, Hasan Bagherinia and Abolfazl Abri were also arrested during the ceremony for Alikordi, a well-known lawyer who was found dead in his office in Tehran a week ago.
The 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner was on conditional release and at the end of November she publicly denounced that the Iranian authorities had “permanently” prohibited her from leaving the country and did not issue her a passport to be able to visit her two children, whom she had not seen for eleven years. Mohammadi has been out of prison for a year, when she was released due to her medical problems. The activist has been arrested thirteen times, convicted nine times, and was last imprisoned in 2021.
After her arrest, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, María Corina Machado, condemned the violent arrest of the activist Iranian Mohammadi. He described the arrest as an act of “brutality” and “fear” by the Iranian regime, and warned that it was a deliberate attempt to silence one of the most influential voices in the human rights movement in that country.
«Narges Mohammadi was not arrested for a crime. “She was detained for her courage, for refusing to accept humiliation as destiny and for defending the equal dignity of women and the basic rights of every human being,” said the Venezuelan leader.
In Machado’s opinion, the arrest seeks to send a message of intimidation to the entire Iranian society. «Dictatorships understand that a brave voice, once heard, cannot be ignored. That’s why they hit in public. That’s why they choose brutality. “This arrest is a confession of fear,” he said.
The leader also warned that the arrest during a commemorative event, in front of witnesses, aims to cut off the international solidarity that protects political prisoners and those who defend human rights in authoritarian contexts.
In his statement, Machado called on democratic governments, international organizations and other Nobel Peace Prize winners to act firmly. He demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Mohammadi and all those detained during the tribute, as well as proof of life, access to his family and lawyers, and independent medical care. He also called for coordinated diplomatic pressure and targeted sanctions against those responsible for the repression, as well as sustained support for Iranian civil society, especially women.
«Authoritarianism survives when the world treats repression as internal affairs. We must end this complicity. Dictatorships cooperate with each other; “Our response must be unity, principles and action,” he expressed.
Machado recalled that during his speech in Oslo he stated that the fight for freedom does not belong to a single country. «That march is not only Venezuelan. He is Iranian. It is universal. It advances every time a woman like Narges turns pain into truth and truth into action,” she said.
The Venezuelan leader closed her message with a declaration of solidarity addressed to the Iranian activist, the women of Iran and the political prisoners. «To Narges Mohammadi, to the women of Iran, to every political prisoner and every family waiting outside the prisons: you are not alone. From Venezuela, where we know the cost of tyranny and the strength of civic courage, we are with you,” he said.
And he concluded: «They can arrest a person. “They cannot arrest the truth.”
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*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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