Iran frees jailed Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi for 21 days on medical grounds after surgery

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was released temporarily from prison Wednesday after undergoing a complex surgery in Iran that saw part of a bone in her right leg removed over cancer fears, her supporters said.

Video footage from the capital, Tehran, showed Mohammadi, 52, taken out of the back of an ambulance, her black hair fanned out without the required hijab, or headscarf, covering it as she called out into the street. Her right leg was covered in a fabric cast.

“Hello freedom!” she shouted. “Women, life, freedom! Freedom is our right! Long live freedom!”

Campaigners said she would be free for 21 days, but would have to serve the remaining prison time later. The government did not acknowledge the medical furlough for Mohammadi, which her supporters demanded should involve her being permanently freed.

“A 21-day suspension of Narges Mohammadi’s sentence is inadequate,” the campaign group said. “After over a decade of imprisonment, Narges requires specialized medical care in a safe, sanitary environment — a basic human right. As doctors have emphasized, a minimum of three months’ recovery is crucial for her healing.”

It added: “Narges should never have been imprisoned in the first place for her peaceful advocacy for human and women’s rights — the very work that earned her the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Mohammadi is serving 13 years and nine months on charges of collusion against state security and propaganda against Iran’s government. She has kept up her activism despite numerous arrests by Iranian authorities and spending years behind bars. That includes backing the nationwide, women-led protests sparked by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, which have seen women openly defy the government by not wearing the hijab.

Mohammadi suffered multiple heart attacks while imprisoned before undergoing emergency surgery in 2022, her supporters say. Her lawyer last month revealed doctors had found a bone lesion that they feared could be cancerous.

“We are hugely relieved by Narges Mohammadi’s temporary release today from Evin prison, which is an important step in the right direction," said Rebecca Vincent, director of campaigns at Reporters Sans Frontières. “We remain deeply concerned by her worrying health situation and urge the Iranian authorities to grant her sufficient time at home to allow for her full recovery.”

The release comes as Iran’s economy struggles with the impact of sanctions imposed by the West, in part over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. The public are angry over the devaluation of their currency and government corruption, with protests leading to a government crackdown on dissent.

The return of President-elect Donald Trump to the White House in January has stoked concerns for some that he may resume his “maximum pressure” campaign on the Islamic Republic.