Imprisoned Iranian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi is "between life and death," her supporters said on Wednesday.
“We have never been so afraid for Narges’ life; she could leave us at any moment,” her lawyer Chirinne Ardakani told reporters during a Paris press conference.
“We are not just fighting for her freedom, we are fighting to keep her heart beating,” Ardakani added. “There is a danger of death today; we must act before it is too late.”
Jonathan Dagher, the Middle East regional director for Reporters Without Borders, said: "For the first time, we are using the words 'between life and death.'"
Her supporters have formally appealed to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, to advocate for Mohammadi.
Lawyer Ardakani noted that Mohammadi's two children and her husband live in Paris, and urged French President Emmanuel Macron to take a firm stance in the case.
“We expect the president to take a strong position," the lawyer stated.
Mohammadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for her campaigning against the oppression of women and the death penalty in Iran.
The 54-year-old is in hospital in Zanjan in north-western Iran, where she is being detained. Mohammadi was reportedly moved to an intensive care unit because of acute heart problems.
She is said to be suffering from persistently unstable blood pressure levels and severe nausea, according to reports at the weekend.
In April, her brother Hamid-Reza Mohammadi warned that her state of health was worrying.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was again sentenced to several years in prison for conspiracy and propaganda activities in February, according to her lawyer. In addition, she is subject to a two-year travel ban.
