The Narges Mohammadi Foundation said on Friday that Mohammadi was urgently moved to a hospital in Zanjan after prison doctors concluded her condition could no longer be managed inside the detention facility.

According to the foundation, the activist suffered two episodes of complete loss of consciousness, severe nausea, dangerously high blood pressure and repeated vomiting before fainting on Friday morning and being taken to the prison medical unit for emergency intravenous treatment.

The statement described the hospital transfer as a “desperate, last-minute” measure and warned it could come too late to address her critical health condition. Reuters could not immediately independently verify the claims.Mohammadi, in her 50s, won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize while serving a prison sentence for her activism on women’s rights, freedom of expression and opposition to the death penalty in Iran.

She has become one of the country’s most prominent human rights campaigners and a leading voice against state repression.The secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Thursday there was growing concern over her worsening condition after reports that she had suffered a heart attack in prison.

Mohammadi has undergone three angioplasty procedures, according to her family, and faces what they described as a “direct and immediate” threat to her life if she does not receive specialist medical treatment in Tehran.Her family called for all charges against her to be dropped immediately and for the annulment of prison sentences linked to what they described as her peaceful human rights work.

The activist was sentenced earlier this year to an additional seven-and-a-half years in prison, according to the foundation. In February, the Nobel Committee urged Iranian authorities to release her without delay.She was arrested in December after publicly condemning the death of lawyer Khosrow Alikordi.

Iranian prosecutor Hasan Hematifar said at the time that Mohammadi made provocative remarks during Alikordi’s memorial ceremony in Mashhad and encouraged attendees to chant what authorities called norm-breaking slogans and disturb public order.Iranian authorities have not immediately commented on Friday’s hospitalization.

Mohammadi has spent years in and out of prison over charges related to national security and anti-state propaganda, accusations rights groups say are frequently used against dissidents and civil society activists in Iran.Her case has drawn sustained international attention, particularly since nationwide protests over women’s rights and political freedoms intensified scrutiny of Iran’s treatment of activists, journalists and political prisoners.

Chirinne Ardakani, a France-based lawyer representing Mohammadi, said two Iranian lawyers and the activist’s sister visited her at Zanjan Prison on Sunday and found her in a weakened condition.

According to Ardakani, Mohammadi, 53, appeared pale, had lost significant weight and was being assisted by a nurse during the visit. Mohammadi told her lawyers that she had been unconscious for more than an hour on March 24 and was later informed by a prison doctor that she had likely suffered a heart attack.

She has since experienced recurring chest pain and breathing difficulties, Ardakani said, adding that Mohammadi described her condition as severe.The lawyer said authorities have denied requests to transfer Mohammadi to a hospital or allow her to see a cardiologist.

Direct communication with Mohammadi’s Iran-based lawyers was not immediately possible, as they do not speak to media. Ardakani said an internet blackout in Iran has further restricted information flow, noting that speaking to foreign media without authorization can lead to prison sentences.

A prison official was present during the visit, which was brief.Background and legal statusMohammadi, a rights lawyer, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while in prison.

She was arrested again in December in Mashhad and sentenced to an additional seven years in prison following a ruling by a Revolutionary Court.Prior to that, she had been serving a sentence of 13 years and nine months on charges related to national security and propaganda, though she had been released on medical furlough in late 2024.

Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, previously said her health had deteriorated following alleged physical abuse during her December arrest.

Mohammadi has a history of heart problems and has suffered multiple heart attacks in custody, undergoing emergency surgery in 2022, according to her supporters.

The Nobel Committee last month criticized what it described as life-threatening mistreatment of Mohammadi by Iranian authorities.