Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, was taken to hospital after her health deteriorated suddenly in prison, her lawyer and family said Friday.

According to her family, Mohammadi, 54, suffered a heart attack in late March and has been in a weakened state since then, with the medical care in prison inadequate to her needs.

Mohammadi received the Nobel prize for her activities promoting women’s rights and opposing the death penalty — activities that have, however, caused Iranian authorities to imprison her several times.

She is currently facing a new prison term of 7 1/2 years.

What do we know about Mohammadi’s condition?

Her lawyer, Mostafa Nili, said she had long suffered from cardiac arrhythmia before her sudden collapse.

“She had severe chest pain, and her condition then deteriorated critically,” Nili wrote on X.

The Narges Mohammadi Foundation, run by her family, said Friday that she was hospitalized “following a catastrophic deterioration of her health, including two episodes of complete loss of consciousness and a severe cardiac crisis.”

The foundation said her hospitalization came after prison doctors determined they could not manage her condition.

It described the transfer as a “desperate, last-minute” measure that might come too late to address her critical health needs.

Mohammadi has previously undergone three angioplasties, procedures used to widen narrowed or obstructed arteries or veins.

Why is Mohammadi in prison?

Her family called for all charges against her “to be dropped immediately and for all sentences imposed for her peaceful human rights work to be unconditionally annulled.”

Mohammadi has been arrested and imprisoned many times over the past decades. She was first jailed in 1998 for criticizing the Iranian government.

Her latest spell in prison comes after she was arrested in December for denouncing the death ​of human rights lawyer Khosrow Alikordi, who died in that month under circumstances considered suspicious by his family, colleagues and activists.

Mohammadi was then accused by prosecutors of having made provocative remarks at Alikordi’s memorial ceremony and of having urged those in attendance to vocally express their concerns.

In February, she was sentenced to an additional six years in prison for conspiracy and 1 1/2 years for propaganda activities, her lawyer reported. She was also banned from leaving Iran for two years.

Edited by: Louis Oelofse