DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An Iranian Revolutionary Court in Mashhad has handed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi a new prison term of 7 1/2 years and ordered her into two years of internal exile, her lawyer and supporters said Sunday. The ruling deepens one of Iran’s most closely watched human rights cases as authorities harden their response to protests and dissent, Feb. 8, 2026.
Supporters said Narges Mohammadi received the verdict Saturday while being held in a detention center in Mashhad after weeks of near-total isolation. The sentence includes six years for “assembly and collusion against national security” and 1 1/2 years for “propaganda against the government,” plus a two-year travel ban, according to a Reuters report.
Narges Mohammadi’s new sentence and exile order
Prison term: 7 1/2 years.
Internal exile: Two years in Khusf, a city in South Khorasan province.
Restrictions: A two-year travel ban, supporters said.
Supporters say Narges Mohammadi began a hunger strike Feb. 2 to protest her detention conditions and limits on contact with her family and lawyers, ending it Sunday as her health worsened. The Guardian reported that her lawyer, Mostafa Nili, confirmed the sentence in a post on X and urged Iranian authorities to consider temporary medical release.
Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, described the new verdict as “a reflection of the skyrocketing lethal repression” against dissent, according to The Associated Press. Iranian officials have not publicly acknowledged the ruling, and Iran’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment in the Reuters report.
Other rights monitors have offered differing accounts of additional punishments included in the case. Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said the court also imposed penalties beyond prison and exile, including lashes and other restrictions, in its summary of the judgment.
Why Narges Mohammadi remains a touchstone in Iran
Narges Mohammadi won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and for broader human rights and freedom, a decision the Nobel committee said came at “tremendous personal costs,” as detailed in the Nobel Prize press release. Supporters and rights groups have long warned that her repeated imprisonments, alongside health concerns, put her at heightened risk in custody.
Iran’s courts have repeatedly used similar national security allegations against Narges Mohammadi. In 2022, Human Rights Watch said she received another prison sentence after a closed trial that included six years for “assembly and collusion,” according to its reporting.
Narges Mohammadi’s latest detention followed her December 2025 appearance at a memorial for Mashhad lawyer Khosrow Alikordi, whose death supporters described as suspicious. A Reuters report at the time quoted prosecutors alleging she encouraged “norm-breaking slogans” and “disturb the peace” as authorities detained dozens of mourners and journalists.
Supporters say the new prison term and internal exile order could keep Narges Mohammadi locked away for years, even as international pressure builds for her release. For many Iranians and activists, her case has become a bellwether for whether Tehran will ease its crackdown or keep treating protest and speech as crimes against the state.
