Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi needs months of medical care after collapsing at an Iran prison, according to a statement by her foundation. The doctors who examined her more than a week after the collapse said her condition requires a prolonged treatment plan, with angiography results indicating significant arterial blockage and a deterioration of vascular disease since 2024.
The foundation said Mohammadi, 53, was transferred urgently from a prison in Iran to a hospital in northwestern Iran on May 1 after she fell unconscious. It said she was released on bail nearly 10 days later and transferred to a hospital in Tehran, where her specialists examined her.
In its Wednesday statement, the foundation said the angiography procedure showed two of her main arteries have significant blockage. It added that her vascular disease has “significantly deteriorated” since she last had the procedure in 2024.
The statement also described ongoing fluctuations in Mohammadi’s blood pressure. It said the attending physician attributed the fluctuations, in part, to damage to a portion of the brain responsible for regulating blood pressure.
The doctors recommended an eight-month treatment course, according to the foundation. The statement said the plan called for an environment “free from external stressors,” where she could receive permanent care and long-term treatment.
Mohammadi’s foundation and dozens of Nobel Prize laureates have called for her unconditional release, citing her role as a vocal advocate of human and women’s rights. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while in prison and has been jailed repeatedly throughout her career.
Her latest imprisonment began in December, after she was arrested in Mashhad, in northeastern Iran. Her family has said her health had been deteriorating in prison, in part because she was heavily beaten during her arrest, and it has previously reported that she had a heart attack in March.
The foundation also said she has had a blood clot in her lung since before her imprisonment that requires blood thinners and monitoring. It did not specify in the statement when the clot was first detected.