Imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has been transferred to a hospital for urgent medical care after she launched a hunger strike to protest moves by prison officials to twice block her access to hospital care because she would not wear a head scarf.
Two activists close to Mohammadi said in separate social-media posts on November 8 that the Nobel laureate was now hospitalized and being examined by doctors after her state of health earlier in the week was said to be "unfavorable."
Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, said earlier this week that despite the "50 percent occlusion of two heart vessels" and an order from the prison doctor to "immediately send" Mohammadi to the hospital, Evin prison authorities "refused" to release his wife for proper medical care.
"Fortunately, today Narges Mohammadi was sent to the hospital for medical examinations," said Alieh Motalebzadeh, a photo journalist and women's rights activist on X, formerly Twitter.
Added Alireza Khoshpat: "My wife, Zahra Tohidi, informed me in a call from Evin prison that fortunately Narges Mohammadi was sent to a hospital outside the prison this morning for treatment."
Tohidi and Khoshpat were both arrested in September 2022 during the "Women, life, freedom" protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody for an alleged head-scarf violation.
After being released on bail at the end of 2022, Tohidi was charged again and subsequently sentenced to five years -- some of which was later changed to a suspended sentence -- in Evin prison for "assembly and collusion against national security."
Mohammadi's family announced on November 6 that she had launched a hunger strike after being denied access to a hospital even though the diagnosis of a "trusted" doctor of the prison showed Mohammadi "is in need of emergency transfer to the heart and lung center for urgent medical care."
Renowned globally as a staunch advocate for the "Women, life, freedom" movement, Mohammadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 6.
For years, Mohammadi has voiced dissent against the obligatory hijab rule imposed on Iranian women, as well as restrictions on women's freedoms and rights in the country by its Islamic regime.
Rahmani said last week that the Nobel award had ratcheted up pressure by officials on Mohammadi, with some citing her statements as grounds for indictment.
He also noted Mohammadi's steadfast refusal to revert to wearing the mandatory hijab, a stance reinforced since the "Woman, life, freedom" protests.
"She does not want to return to the previous era," he said, noting it had been more than 20 months since she was allowed to speak to her children while Rahmani, who lives in France and has been labeled by the authorities as a "fugitive accused" is prohibited from speaking with his wife.
On November 1, Mohammadi's family reported a sit-in by her and fellow inmates at Evin prison to protest against the denial of her transfer to a cardiac hospital, underscoring the ongoing struggle for basic rights within the prison system.