Children of jailed mother accept her Nobel Peace Prize

The children of jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi have accepted this year’s Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf at a ceremony in Oslo.

The 17-year-old twins Kiana and Ali Rahmani collected the prize awarded to Ms Mohammadi by the Norwegian Nobel committee last month.

Ms Mohammadi, who is renowned for campaigning for women’s rights and democracy in Iran, as well as fighting against the death penalty, is currently in prison in Tehran.

In a speech read out by her children, Ms Mohammadi, 51, said the Iranian people would ultimately overcome authoritarianism.

“The Iranian people, with perseverance, will overcome repression and authoritarianism. Have no doubt, this is certain,” she said in her speech sent from Iran’s notorious Evin prison.

Her daughter, who lives in exile in Paris with her brother and father, said she had little hope of seeing her mother again.

“Maybe I’ll see her in 30 or 40 years, but I think I won’t see her again,” Ms Rahmani said.

“But that doesn’t matter because my mother will always live on in my heart, values that are worth fighting for.”

Ms Mohammadi’s husband Taghi Rahmani has previously said he has not been able to see his wife for 11 years, while their children haven’t seen their mother for seven years.

The women’s rights activist was symbolically represented on stage in Oslo City Hall by her portrait and an empty chair.

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It is the fifth time in the 122-year history of the awards that the Nobel Peace Prize has been given to someone in prison or under house arrest.

Ms Mohammadi was awarded the prize just over a year after nationwide protests in Iran, triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the Iranian morality police. She was accused of violating the country’s strict headscarf law which forces women to cover their hair and bodies.

The protests were put down with deadly force.

In her message from prison, Ms Mohammadi said: “We believe that the mandatory hijab imposed by the government is neither a religious obligation or a cultural tradition, but rather a means of maintaining control and submission throughout society.

“The reality is that the Islamic Republic regime is at its lowest level of legitimacy and popular social support.

“Now is the time for international civil society to support Iranian civil society, and I will exert all my efforts in this regard.”

Iran has branded the protests Western-led subversion and has accused the Nobel committee of meddling.

Ms Mohammadi is the 19th woman to win the peace prize and the second Iranian woman after human rights activist Shirin Ebadi won the award in 2003.

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