Narges Mohammadi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights activist and political prisoner in Iran, has written a letter marking the tenth anniversary of her children's departure from the Islamic Republic.
In the message shared on her Instagram account, Mohammadi reflected on the pain of separation and her role as a mother in the face of political oppression.
"I hope my children will know that I, like all the mother prisoners, although branded 'defiant', was a loving mother whose heart is still pounded by the terrible wave of longing for her children," Mohammadi wrote, addressing her twins, Kiana and Ali.
The activist described the anguish of being distant from her children, stating, "Distance means not hugging, touching, seeing, or even hearing their voices."
She expressed concern that this separation will turn her into "a stranger" to her children and make them "unfamiliar" to her.
Mohammadi placed her personal struggle in the broader context of the Middle East, where "war and tyranny run side by side."
She drew parallels between her situation and that of other mothers in the region – "those of soldiers, of children fearing bombs, and of young people fallen to violence or executed in prisons."
In her letter, she aligned herself with "thousands of imprisoned mothers" who resisted the Iranian government's oppression.
In January, Mohammadi was sentenced to 15 months in prison, two years of exile from Tehran, travel bans, along with other punishments by a separate revolutionary court.
In November 2021, she was arrested at a memorial and later sentenced to eight years in prison, 74 lashes, exile, and several restrictions.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Mohammadi the 2023 Peace Prize "for her courageous fight for freedom and human rights over three decades" in Iran.
However, her legal troubles have only continued, with additional sentences imposed by Tehran's Revolutionary Courts in 2022 and 2023.
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