Children of Iran Nobel Peace Prize Winner Fear They Won’t See Her Again


STORY/REUTERS: Narges Mohammadi, 51, who is serving multiple sentences in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison on charges including spreading propaganda, won the award on Oct. 6 in a rebuke to Tehran’s theocratic leaders, prompting the Islamic Republic’s condemnation.

Her twin 17-year-old children, Ali and Kiana Rahmani, who live in exile in Paris, are due to accept the award at Oslo’s City Hall and give the Nobel Peace Prize lecture on her behalf.

In a letter smuggled out of prison and published by Swedish broadcaster SVT this week, Mohammadi said she would continue to fight for human rights even if it led to her death. But she said she missed her children the most.

Kiana Rahmani, who last saw her mother eight years ago, said: “When it comes to seeing her again, personally I am very pessimistic.”

Mohammadi’s son Ali said he had accepted from early childhood that the family would live apart, but said he would stay optimistic he might see her again.

Mohammadi is the 19th woman to win the prize, which today is worth 11 million Swedish crowns, or around $1 million, and the fifth person to win it while in detention.

It is awarded on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who founded the awards in his 1895 will.

PROFILE: Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Speaks Of Her Struggle

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