New York, Sept. 19 (SANA)Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has said Iranians are bearing an “extremely heavy price” from war, economic hardship and US sanctions, while describing intensified repression inside the country.

Mohammadi, 54, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for her human rights activism, spoke to The Associated Press after being temporarily released from prison on medical grounds earlier this year.

She said economic hardship and internal pressure had left little space for ordinary Iranians, but argued that public resistance had continued since the protests that followed the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini after her detention over an alleged violation of Iran’s mandatory dress rules.

Mohammadi said younger Iranians were increasingly aware of their rights despite what she described as intensified government repression.

Mohammadi’s memoir, “A Woman Never Stops Fighting,” was written while she was imprisoned, with pages smuggled out with the help of fellow inmates.

French, German and nine other language editions are being released this month, while English and Farsi editions are scheduled for September 2027. Her representatives said the publication dates were chosen to coincide with the anniversary of Amini’s death.

Mohammadi describes detention as ‘life-threatening’

Mohammadi told AP that security forces severely beat her during her arrest in Mashhad in December while she was attending a memorial for human rights lawyer Khosrow Alikordi.

She said she suffered head injuries and was subsequently held in solitary confinement for two months. Mohammadi later lost consciousness on May 1 and was taken to hospital before being released on bail about 10 days later.

She has received prison sentences totaling 44 years over the course of her activism and has already spent about 10 years behind bars, according to AP. Her current sentence is suspended, but she said she must return to prison if ordered by the judiciary.

Mohammadi also recalled her childhood during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war and said those experiences shaped her opposition to war. She expressed concern for prisoners after Evin prison was struck during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in 2025.