Mohammadi Family Says Prisoners Face 19kg Loss in Zanjan — Prisoners
Narges Mohammadi’s family says prisoners in Zanjan central prison now include the jailed Iranian Nobel laureate after a sharp health decline and a suspected heart attack. Her relatives say the 54-year-old has lost almost 20kg, and her legal team is trying to secure a one-month medical suspension of her sentence.
Hamidreza Mohammadi said keeping her in that prison, under immense stress and brutal conditions, was like a death sentence. He said the specialists were clear that her medication could not even be adjusted safely without her full medical team present.
Zanjan Central Prison
The family says Mohammadi is being held in Zanjan central prison in north-west Iran after her re-arrest in December 2025 during the memorial service of a fellow human rights activist. Her lawyers said she was found unconscious in her cell last month after a suspected heart attack, and that she had been experiencing persistent chest pain, loss of consciousness and extreme weight loss.
The Narges Mohammadi Foundation said her blood pressure had fluctuated dangerously for the past three days and had shown no response to medication. The foundation said she had suffered a weight loss of more than 19kg, or 44lb, and her doctors said she required urgent, specialised medical care.
Cardiology specialists and Tehran
Cardiology specialists familiar with her case told the family that Mohammadi’s cardiac history includes multiple previous angioplasties. Doctors said any further surgery must be carried out by her own doctors in a fully equipped hospital in Tehran, and that the facilities in Zanjan were inadequate.
Kiana Rahmani said her mother’s body was simply exhausted after more than 10 years behind bars and so many hunger strikes that her heart was struggling. She said Mohammadi already has a stent from a previous surgery and now faces daily headaches, high blood pressure and constant chest pains.
Iran’s political prisoners
Ali said his mother was being punished for speaking up for those who were executed, killed, imprisoned and disappeared in Iran. He also said the Islamic republic must release all political prisoners in Iran immediately. Mohammadi, who received the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize while in prison, had been released for health reasons in 2024 before her re-arrest in December 2025.
The next step in her case is the medical decision her lawyers are seeking: a one-month suspension of her sentence so she can receive treatment outside prison. Her family’s argument now turns on whether Iranian authorities move her from Zanjan central prison to the Tehran hospital her doctors say she needs.
