Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian women's rights advocate who is serving a 12-year prison sentence, won the Nobel Peace Prize today, a decision likely to provoke anger in Tehran.
**Who is Narges Mohammadi and why is she in prison?**
Narges, 51, is the Deputy Director of the Center for the Defenders of Human Rights, a non-governmental organization led by Shirin Ebadi, who also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003. She began her activism 32 years ago as a student. In an op-ed in the "New York Times" on September 16, coinciding with the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini's (22 years old) death while in the custody of the morality police—an event that sparked massive protests last year—she wrote, "My aim at that time was to fight religious tyranny, which, along with social traditions and customs, has led to the entrenched oppression of women" in Iran.
**Prisoner**
Narges is currently serving multiple sentences in Evin Prison in Tehran, totaling about 12 years according to the organization Front Line Defenders, which advocates for human rights. The current sentence is one of the many times she has been imprisoned. The charges against her include spreading propaganda against the state. She has been incarcerated in Evin Prison three times since 2012, as noted in her op-ed in the "New York Times" last month.
**Prominent Activist**
Narges is a prominent human rights activist, and her arrest has become a focal point for Iranians seeking progress in the human rights situation in their country.
**Her Family**
Taqi Rahmani, Narges's husband, stated that she has been unable to see her children for seven years and has not seen him for 15 years due to her imprisonment.
**Previous Arrests**
Iranian authorities have arrested Narges 13 times before, sentencing her to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes, according to the Nobel Peace Prize website.
