President Joe Biden issued a statement on Wednesday, October 6, 2023, congratulating Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi on winning the Nobel Peace Prize and urging the Iranian government to release her and other human rights defenders from prison1. Mohammadi, a prominent journalist and women’s rights advocate, was awarded the prestigious prize for her “unshakable courage” and “commitment to building the future that women and all people in Iran deserve”.
She has been repeatedly arrested, persecuted, and tortured by the Iranian regime for her peaceful activism and is currently serving a 16-year sentence in Evin prison1. Biden said that Mohammadi’s award is a recognition that “the world still hears the clarion voice of Narges Mohammadi calling for freedom and equality” and that her movement “Woman, Life, Freedom” has brought hope to people in Iran and around the world1. He also expressed his solidarity with the Iranian people who are fighting for a free and democratic future for their nation and denounced the recent reports of Iran’s morality police assaulting a 16-year-old girl for not wearing a headscarf.
The president said that the United States will continue to work to support Iranians’ ability to advocate for their own future, for freedom of expression, for gender equality, and to end gender-based violence against women and girls everywhere1. He also said that the United States will continue to lead a diplomatic initiative at the United Nations to highlight, condemn, and promote accountability for Iran’s abuses and to deploy anti-censorship tools and sanctions against the Iranian regime1. “The United States will continue to stand with Ms. Mohammadi, with the brave people of Iran, and with all those around the world who are working with resilience and resolve to make our world more equal and more free,” Biden concluded.
