Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi Exposes Prison Abuse and Tehran's Brutality in New Memoir

In an interview with CNN, Nobel peace laureate Narges Mohammadi detailed her harrowing imprisonment at Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, where she smuggled out fragments of her writing with the help of friends and fellow inmates. Despite facing violent beatings, falling gravely ill, and spending much of the last two decades behind bars away from her children due to her activism against the Iranian regime, Mohammadi persevered. "One of my friends was trying to take out just three sheets of paper on a visiting day, but the prison security forces confiscated them from her," Mohammadi told CNN’s Jomana Karadsheh in one of her first interviews since her release from prison in May on temporary medical leave.

After losing more than 20 notebooks following a severe beating and exile to another prison, Mohammadi continued writing. She turned these fragments into her memoir, "A Woman Never Stops Fighting," which is being released this month in some European countries. The book shares new details about those responsible for her mistreatment. "In order to document these things, it is better to speak openly about their methods, to expose and reveal their torture," she said.

Publishing the book carries immense risks, but Mohammadi remains undeterred. "There may be consequences, but this is what life is like for us in this region and in this country," she stated. To avoid putting her at further risk, CNN focused the interview on her memoir and personal experiences rather than recent events in Iran. Reflecting on her choices, she admitted that while she would make the same decision to struggle, looking at her 19-year-old twins, Ali and Kiana, brings doubt regarding depriving them of an ordinary life.

According to her foundation, Mohammadi has been sentenced to more than 44 years in prison and 154 lashes. The Norwegian Nobel Committee reported that during her most recent stint behind bars between December and May, she endured severe mistreatment, including being beaten with wooden sticks and batons and dragged by her hair. Held in solitary confinement for two months without access to phone calls, family, or lawyers, she suffered a suspected heart attack in March and lost 20 kilograms before being hospitalized for 18 days and temporarily allowed to return home on medical furlough.

Mohammadi described solitary confinement and the denial of medical treatment—which she called "silent execution"—as tools used by the government to psychologically, emotionally, and physically break prisoners. Despite the Iranian government downplaying her allegations, Mohammadi praised the courage of women in the streets during protest movements like the Woman, Life, Freedom movement sparked by the death of Mahsa Jhina Amini. Ultimately, her book stands as both a tribute to those fighting for democracy and the words of a mother hoping to embrace her children in France once again.