Nobel Laureate's Health Crisis in Iran

0:00It's May 3rd. This is U.S. News Today, powered by AI, your country, in real time. I'm Cory with the story. Iran's Nobel Peace Prize winner, Narjiz Mohamedi, just got rushed from prison to a hospital in Zanjan after her health took a catastrophic turn. The 53-year-old activist fainted twice in one day, suffering a severe cardiac crisis and losing consciousness completely. Prison docs finally admitted they couldn't handle it on site. This comes after 140 days of what her foundation calls systematic medical neglect since her arrest on December 12. Back in late March, she likely had a heart attack, leaving her pale, underweight, and needing help to walk. She's battled hard problems before, even needing emergency surgery in 2022. Her family has been pushing hard for proper care, but prosecutors in Zanjan keep blocking transfers to specialists in Tehran. Her brother, Hamidraiza, living in Oslo, shared an audio pleading that they're fighting

1:01for her life while Iranian relatives do everything possible. The foundation says this hospital move feels like a desperate last-minute step that might be too late. Mohamedi's a fierce human rights lawyer who won the Nobel in 2023 while locked up, championing protests after Masa Amini's death. She was already serving over 13 years for security charges. Not furlough for health reasons, but kept protesting publicly. Then in December, a beating during arrest in Mashad led to seven more years from a revolutionary court. Right now, she's in the cardiac care unit, with wildly fluctuating blood pressure, an official suggested suspending her sentence for a month of treatment. But the Zanjan prosecutor kicked it to Tehran, leaving her fight hanging in the balance as she stays defiant against the regime.