RSF - Reporters sans frontières
RSF - Reporters sans frontières
05/05/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/06/2026 08:29
Iran: Narges Mohammadi’s life in danger, urgent action needed
The journalist, human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has been denied emergency medical care since her latest arrest in Iran on 12 December 2025. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), her lawyer Chirinne Ardakani and the Free Narges Coalition are raising the alarm about the state of her health, which has become critical since early May, and have written to the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights. She must be protected without delay.
Narges Mohammadi's condition is critical. After a rapid deterioration in her health in Zanjan prison, northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran, she was transferred to a local hospital in early May. She suffered a heart attack and several episodes of unconsciousness. According to her lawyers and family members, the hospital where she remains under the regime's close surveillance is not equipped to address her medical needs.
An urgent appeal for her release was issued on 5 May at a press conference held by Chirinne Ardakani, the family's lawyer, alongside Mona Armande, the Narges Mohammadi Foundation's advocacy director, and members of the Free Narges Coalition, represented by the head of RSF's Middle East desk, Jonathan Dagher. "We have never been so afraid for Narges' life, she could leave us at any moment," Chirinne Ardakani said.
"Narges Mohammadi is being slowly executed. The Iranian regime refuses to release her, refuses to provide her with the necessary medical care, and is directly responsible for her worsening health since her violent arrest on 12 December. It is not too late to act to save her life. We call on the international community to use all diplomatic, legal and political means to pressure the Iranian regime to release the Nobel laureate. Together with the coalition and her lawyer, RSF has also written to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, to explain the situation and urge him to take urgent measures to ensure Narges Mohammadi's safety and to call for her release. Narges Mohammadi deserves to be free and in good health, as do all of the 19 other journalists currently detained in Iran.
Jonathan Dagher
Head of RSF's Middle East desk
Read the open letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
A journalist, defender of Iranian women's rights and human rights in Iran, and author of the book White Torture, Narges Mohammadi was on medical leave from prison when she was arrested on 12 December after giving a speech at the funeral of an Iranian human rights activist. RSF has learned that the beatings she received that day directly contributed to the decline in her health, as the Iranian authorities refused to provide her with adequate medical care despite our appeals.
Iran under media blackout
Iran is ranked fourth from last (176th/180) in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index that RSF published on 30 April. Since March, after the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, journalists covering the war have been subjected to increased restrictions. As they flee their bombed cities, they continue to be threatened by the regime, which has cut off the independent media's means of communication. The regime also continues to target Iranian journalists and independent media outlets in exile, while 20 journalists remain imprisoned in the Islamic Republic. To circumvent censorship, RSF has launched shortwave radio broadcasts with the Iranian exile media outlet Iran Wire.
Published on 05.05.2026
RSF - Reporters sans frontières published this content on May 05, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on May 06, 2026 at 14:29 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]