*Event date: 2025-12-12*

Iran has arrested Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi during a memorial for a lawyer and human rights activist in Mashhad, according to her supporters, in a detention that immediately revived concerns about pressure on activists and the treatment of political dissent.

The AP report says Mohammadi’s foundation said she was detained while attending a ceremony for Khosrow Alikordi, a human rights lawyer who was found dead under unclear circumstances. Supporters described the arrest as violent, and said other activists were also detained at the event. Iranian authorities have not given a detailed public account of Mohammadi’s whereabouts, and the local official cited in the report did not directly name her.

Mohammadi is one of Iran’s best-known rights campaigners and has already spent years in and out of prison. The AP notes that she had been on temporary release since December 2024 for medical reasons after previously serving a sentence. Her supporters warned for months that she risked being sent back to prison, and the arrest appears to have confirmed those fears.

The timing matters. The arrest comes as Iran faces sanctions, a difficult economy and a persistent sense of political strain. The report says the government has also been worried about renewed conflict with Israel, a backdrop that gives any move against a prominent dissident wider international weight. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it was deeply concerned and called for clarification of her whereabouts and for her release.

The ceremony itself has become part of the controversy. According to the report, footage purportedly from the event showed Mohammadi speaking without a hijab and leading chants, while officials said prosecutors had ordered temporary detentions after “norm-breaking” slogans were heard. That clash over the meaning of the footage shows how quickly a memorial event turned into a confrontation over public expression.

Alikordi’s death is also central to the story. Provincial officials said he died of a heart attack, but the report notes that the circumstances raised questions and that more than 80 lawyers demanded more information. The arrest of Mohammadi and others at a gathering meant to honour him only deepened those concerns.

Mohammadi has long been a symbolic figure in Iran’s rights movement. She has been jailed repeatedly, convicted multiple times and linked by supporters to campaigns against compulsory hijab rules and broader repression. The AP report says she had continued to appear publicly, including in front of Evin prison, even after her release on medical grounds.

For Iranian authorities, the arrest may be presented as a matter of public order or prosecutorial authority. For Mohammadi’s supporters and international human rights groups, it looks more like a warning that even a memorial for a dead lawyer can become a red line. The unanswered question now is whether she will be returned to prison, held for further investigation, or released after the political storm passes. For now, her supporters say they do not know where she is.