Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is 'between life and death'

(AFP) Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, jailed since December in Iran, is fighting for her life following her hospitalization five days ago for a heart problem, supporters said Tuesday in Paris.

Narges Mohammadi, whose more than two decades of activism was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, was arrested on Dec. 12 in Mashhad, eastern Iran, after criticizing Iranian religious authorities during a funeral.

"We are not just fighting for the freedom of Narges, we are fighting so that her heart continues to beat," said her lawyer Chirinne Ardakani, specifying that the 54-year-old activist is "between life and death."

"We have never been so afraid for Narges’s life; she could leave us at any moment," Ardakani added during a press conference of her support committee in Paris.

Her relatives have been demanding her release for weeks so that she can be treated by her medical team in Tehran, given her "critical condition." According to them, she has lost about 45 pounds in prison.

Suffering from heart disease, she suffered two suspected heart attacks on March 24 and May 1 in Zanyan prison in northern Iran, from where she was transferred to a nearby hospital, according to her supporters.

Now, she is suffering from an "unprecedented degradation" of her health, Ardakani warned.