The family of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who was detained in Iran last week, say the veteran human rights advocate was badly beaten to the point that she twice needed to visit an emergency room. Mohammadi's family spoke out Monday, with her husband, Taghi Rahmani, confirming she was being held at a Mashhad detention facility run by the Ministry of Intelligence, per the New York Times. Rahmani, who's living in exile in France, said he was able to speak Sunday to Mohammadi, who said she was accused of being an agent of the Israeli government—a charge that puts her at risk of the death penalty.
Relatives say Iranian security forces struck Mohammadi on the head and neck as they detained her at a memorial service for human rights lawyer Khosrow Ali Kordi in Mashhad on Friday. The Narges Foundation said 15 plain-clothes officers pulled her hair and delivered "severe and repeated baton blows to the head and neck," per the BBC. Video showed Mohammadi—who has spent years in and out of prison on national security–related charges tied to her advocacy for women's rights, democracy, and civil liberties—leading chants honoring slain and jailed activists. Relatives say the assailants threatened to "send her mother into mourning," which they described as a direct threat on her life. "She didn't sound well," Rahmani tells the Times, adding, "We are extremely worried about her health."
Iranian authorities have not answered detailed questions about Mohammadi's case. Mashhad's general prosecutor, Hassan Hemmatifar, told state-run media that Mohammadi and others arrested alongside her were being held "lawfully" with their rights respected, and that the investigation would proceed with "precision, speed and decisiveness." The arrests have been criticized by human rights organizations, the European Union, and the Nobel committee; 2025 Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado has urged Mohammadi's "immediate and unconditional" release.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
