Biden Urges Iran To Free Nobel Laureate Activist Narges Mohammadi

United States President Joe Biden. (Wikimedia Commons/The White House)

WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden urged the Iranian government to release detained human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, saying that the Nobel Peace Prize winner was an inspiration to everyone. Biden said Mohammadi had repeatedly experienced arrests, harassment and torture by Tehran. However, his difficulty actually made his advocacy and determination even stronger. Nobel Prize award given to Mohammadi is a form of "confession that, although he is currently being unfairly held in an Evin prison, the world still hears Narges Mohammadi's loud voice calling for freedom and equality," Biden said in a statement. Mohammadi's commitment to building a viable future for women and everyone in Iran is an inspiration to anyone who fights human rights and human basic dignity. I urge the government in Iran to immediately release her and her colleagues who fight for gender equality from prison," he continued. Mohammadi is currently serving a prison sentence of more than 10 years, and has been sentenced to more than 150 lashes. He is facing additional charges from Tehran, and has often been jailed for the past two decades. When announcing Nobel Peace Prize recipients 2023, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said that Mohammadi, who is currently 51 years old, is a woman, human rights defender, and freedom fighters.

"By conferring him the Nobel Peace Prize this year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee intends to honor its brave struggle for human rights, freedom, and democracy in Iran," the committee said. Antonio Guterres separately praised Mohammadi and said that the award given to him was an important reminder that the rights of women and girls were facing opposition. "... included through persecution against women who defend human rights, in Iran and elsewhere," he said. This Nobel Prize is a tribute to all women who fight for their rights by risking their freedom, health and even lives, "he said in a statement.