An Iranian court has extended the prison sentence of Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi by 15 months for "spreading propaganda" against the Islamic Republic while in jail.
Her family made the announcement in a statement on Instagram in Persian and English on January 15.
The statement said the charge was brought against Mohammadi, 51, by the Intelligence Ministry. The Nobel laureate did not attend the latest trial and the verdict was issued in her absence, according to her family.
In addition to the extended prison term, Mohammadi has also been banished from Tehran for two years and barred from traveling abroad, using a smart phone, and joining political groups for the same time period.
Mohammadi's family said this was her fifth conviction since March 2021 and the third for activities carried out while in prison. She has now been sentenced to over 12 years in prison since 2021.
The report of the extended prison sentence comes with Mohammadi already serving a sentence of 10 years and nine months for alleged actions against national security and propaganda against the state. She was also sentenced to 154 lashes, but rights groups believe that punishment has yet to be meted out.
Despite being nearly continuously in prison since 2010, Mohammadi has often tried to raise awareness about prison conditions and alleged abuses faced by female prisoners.
Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, has been campaigning for human rights in Iran for decades and has been in and out of prison in the last 20 years.
Her teenage children accepted the award in Oslo on her behalf and read out a statement by Mohammadi in which she criticized Iran's "tyrannical" government.
The latest conviction appears to contradict comments made last month by a spokesman for Iran's judiciary, who insisted that statements attributed to Mohammadi in the media were "not from her."
It also comes after Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie interviewed Mohammadi for Time Magazine in November 2023 and noted the difficulties she faced trying to communicate with the Nobel prize winner in prison.
The U.S.-based nonprofit organization Freedom House ranks Iran as one of the worst countries in terms of freedom of expression and civil liberties.
News of Mohammadi’s extended prison term comes on the heels of reports that Iran has brought new charges against Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi -- female journalists who have been temporarily released from prison.
Mohammadi and Hamedi, who have been serving lengthy prison terms for their coverage of the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, were photographed flouting Iran's hijab law shortly after leaving prison on bail on January 14.
The U.S.-based Center for Human Rights in Iran on January 16 condemned the "sham charges" against all three woman and criticized the Islamic republic for "its attempts to coerce women into submission for the mere exercise of basic rights."