Prison will not silence me, Iran's Mohammadi says

Narges Mohammadi, the Iranian 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate on temporary medical leave from prison, said in a video call released Thursday that she would never let prison silence her.

The 52-year-old has been jailed repeatedly over the past 25 years, most recently since November 2021, for past convictions relating to her advocacy against the obligatory hijab for women and capital punishment in Iran.

"I know I can accomplish much more outside prison walls, but I will not allow imprisonment to silence me. Never!" Mohammadi said in a video call with the Nobel committee on Sunday, her first time speaking with them since winning the prize.

The Nobel committee shared the video with AFP on Thursday, where Mohammadi can be seen without a veil, speaking joyfully in English and Farsi.

"Commitment to women's rights, human rights and freedom cannot be confined by any prison wall," she said, adding that "advocating for human rights and women's rights is not a crime."

"I should be free to continue my work," she said, denouncing Iran's "silent killing of political prisoners".

"The Islamic Republic is seeking opportunities to silence any opposing voices in the country," Mohammadi said.

But "even if they manage to silence me... it wouldn't change anything for the Islamic Republic," she said.

"The people of Iran have risen up... have been protesting.

"The people of Iran don't want the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Republic knows that," she said.

- 'Release them immediately' -

After Mohammadi won last year's Nobel Peace Prize, her two children collected the award on her behalf.

She was released from prison on December 4 for three weeks on medical grounds after undergoing bone surgery.

Her supporters have called this inadequate and pressed for her unconditional and permanent release.

She is currently staying at a private residence where she is able to move about freely, according to her supporters.

The United Nations, the Norwegian Nobel Committee and others have called for her permanent and unconditional release.

Handing over the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to the Japanese atomic bomb survivors group Nihon Hidankyo in Oslo on Tuesday, the chairman of the Nobel committee likewise called on Iran to release Mohammadi.

Jorgen Watne Frydnes also called for Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski, co-winner of the 2022 prize, to be freed from his country's jails.

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee calls upon the Iranian and Belarusian authorities to release them immediately, permanently and unconditionally," Frydnes said.