Ailing Iranian Nobel laureate given bail and hospital transfer

Iranian authorities granted human rights activist Narges Mohammadi bail amid growing concern over her poor health in prison. Narges Mohammadi: Ailing Iran Nobel laureate given bail and hospital transfer Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. An undated photograph posted by lawyer Chirinne Ardakani showing Iranian Nobel Prize-winning human rights activist Narges Mohammadi gesturing from a hospital bed in Iran (10 May 2026) Ailing Iranian Nobel laureate given bail and hospital transfer Narges Mohammadi's lawyer posted a photo on social media showing the activist sitting in a hospital bed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has been transferred from jail to a Tehran hospital amid concern over her deteriorating health. Iranian authorities granted the human rights activist "a sentence suspension on heavy bail", a foundation run by her family said on Sunday. Her brother, Hamidreza, told the BBC that he was relieved she would now receive adequate treatment from her own medical team. But he cautioned that the seriousness of her condition was not yet clear. Last week, Mohammadi's family and supporters warned she could die in prison after suffering two suspected heart attacks earlier this year. The 54-year-old, who is vice-president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran, was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her activism against female oppression in Iran and promoting human rights. After pleas from her family for her to be transferred from prison, Mohammadi was "now at Tehran Pars Hospital to be treated by her own medical team", ​the Narges Mohammadi Foundation said in a statement on Sunday evening. She had spent 10 days at a hospital in Zanjan, about 265km (165 miles) north-west of the capital, where she was serving her sentence. "Narges Mohammadi's life hangs in the balance," her Paris-based husband, Taghi Rahmani, said in a statement. "While she is currently hospitalised following a catastrophic health failure, a temporary transfer is not enough. Narges must never be returned to the conditions that broke her health," he added. Hamidreza Mohammadi, her Oslo-based brother, told the BBC that the bail provided "temporary relief from the certain death that Narges faced in the prison". "It's very early stages, so we don't have any precise news about what's going on. But we trust the doctors that have treated her before. The only worry that I have is the permanent damage that has been caused during these days in the prison," he said. "She has been experiencing very serious symptoms that point in the direction of having developed variant angina," he added, referring to a heart condition that happens when a coronary artery supplying blood and oxygen to your heart goes into spasm and suddenly narrows. "It might have some life-long repercussions for her health." The activist is believed to have lost about 20kg (three stone) while in prison, and has difficulty speaking and is barely recognisable, according to her lawyer Chirinne Ardakani, who posted a photo of her sitting up in a hospital bed. The activist is believed to have lost about 20kg (three stone) while in prison, and has difficulty speaking and is barely recognisable, according to her lawyer Chirinne Ardakani, who posted a photo of her sitting up in a hospital bed Mohammadi has spent more than a decade of her life in prison. In 2021, she began serving a 13-year sentence on charges of committing "propaganda activity against the state" and "collusion against state security", which she denied. In December 2024, she was given a temporary release from Tehran's notorious Evin prison on medical grounds. Mohammadi was arrested last December for making "provocative remarks" at a memorial ceremony, Iranian authorities said at the time. Her family said she was taken to hospital after being beaten during the arrest. A few weeks later, protests against Iran's clerical establishment swept across the country. Thousands of protesters were killed and tens of thousands arrested in an unprecedented crackdown by security forces on the unrest, according to human rights activists. In early February, Mohammadi was sentenced by a Revolutionary Court to an additional seven-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of "gathering and collusion" and "propaganda activities", her lawyer said. Last month, Hamidreza Mohammadi said his sister had been found unconscious by fellow inmates at Zanjan prison after suffering a suspected heart attack. The foundation's statement on Sunday said "a suspension is not enough" and that the human rights activist requires "permanent, specialised care". "We must ensure she never returns to prison to face the 18 years remaining on her sentence," it read. "Now is the time to demand her unconditional freedom and the dismissal of all charges. No human and women's rights activists should ever be imprisoned for their peaceful work." Hamidreza Mohammadi warned that his sister's physical condition was so fragile that any return to prison "would again cause severe problems for her and eventually her death". Undated picture of Narges Mohammadi provided by her family, showing smiling with uncovered hair Concern for jailed Iranian Nobel laureate as brother fears she is dying Iranian Nobel laureate suffered suspected heart attack in prison, family says Narges Mohammadi sits in a chair wearing a white top and pearl jewellery, with a plant visible behind her. Iranian Nobel laureate handed further prison sentence, lawyer says Her family said the 54-year-old had been taken from prison to a local hospital after a sharp deterioration in her health. Narges Mohammadi's brother says he fears her life is in imminent danger and she needs to be transferred to a hospital. Narges Mohammadi was arrested in December for making "provocative remarks" at a memorial, where she was also reportedly beaten. One restaurant owner said there is "no substitute for Iranian saffron" because of its quality. Iran is reported to want lifting of the US naval blockade, recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for war damage. Iranian authorities have imposed an internet ban but using trusted sources, special correspondent Fergal Keane hears from those traumatised by conflict and government repression. A dissident in Tehran says she feels helpless and under immense psychological pressure. To fly the helicopter it now costs £483 an hour, up from £222 an hour in February.