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.
Kiana and Ali Rahmani sit either side of a seat left empty for their mother
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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Jailed Iranian woman wins Nobel Prize
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.
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