Iranian security forces have violently arrested Nobel Peace Prize winner and women's rights activist Narges Mohammadi, her foundation has said.
The Narges Foundation reported that Ms Mohammadi, 53, was detained in the eastern city of Mashhad along with other activists.
The Nobel Committee stated it was deeply concerned by today's brutal arrest of Narges Mohammadi and called on the authorities to immediately clarify Mohammadi's whereabouts, ensure her safety and integrity, and to release her without conditions. Iran has not commented on the arrest.
Ms Mohammadi was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her activism against female oppression in Iran and promoting human rights.
In December 2024, she had been granted temporary release from jail for three weeks on medical grounds, after being held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison since 2021. As expected, she was to return to prison soon after, where she was serving multiple sentences.
Her latest arrest reportedly came as she attended a memorial ceremony for Khosrow Alikordi, a lawyer found dead in his office last week.
Norway-based group Iran Human Rights called for an independent inquiry into his death, citing suspicious circumstances.
During the ceremony, several other activists were also detained; they chanted slogans like death to the dictator and long live Iran.
Taghi Rahmani, Ms Mohammadi's husband, told BBC Persian: They arrested Narges violently. The brother of the lawyer witnessed her arrest at the memorial. This act is against human rights laws and amounts to some kind of revenge.
This happened in Mashhad today and is concerning because the establishment's crackdown has intensified recently.
Ms Mohammadi recently accused the Iranian authorities of intensifying repression since the June ceasefire with Israel. She described how the Iranian state controls all aspects of personal and public life in an article for Time magazine.
Their peace is disrupted by surveillance, censorship, arbitrary arrest, torture, and the constant threat of violence, she stated.
Over her lifetime, Mohammadi has been arrested 13 times and received sentences totaling more than 36 years in imprisonment and 154 lashes, according to her foundation.
