The France-based lawyer for jailed Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi said on Wednesday she will ask the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged crimes by Iran including the sudden death of a rights lawyer this month.
Mohammadi herself is in Iranian custody after she was arrested at the memorial ceremony for Khrosrow Alikordi in Mashhad last week, who long campaigned against executions and prison mistreatment before his death.
Shirin Ardakani, her lawyer in France, told Iran International on Wednesday she is preparing to send a report to the ICC prosecutor in The Hague, urging an inquiry into what she described as serious violations committed by Iranian authorities.
Ardakani said the submission will highlight Alikordi’s death as part of a wider pattern of abuses targeting dissidents, prisoners and their legal representatives.
According to a post on Mohammadi's official X account, she was able to reach supporters during a brief phone call from prison in which she saidshe was beaten with batons during her arrest on Friday and has since been taken to the emergency room twice due to the severity of her injuries.
Alikordi, 46, was found dead under unclear circumstances, prompting some attorneys and activists to suggest possible Iranian government involvement.
Officials have suggested he suffered a heart attack, but relatives, colleagues, and rights groups have raised doubts, pointing to reports of injuries, blood at the scene, and removed security cameras.
Fellow lawyer Marzieh Mohebbi wrote on X that Alikordi died from a blow to the head, according to what she called trusted contacts. Security officers, she said, removed cameras from the area and that access to his family had become impossible.
“The ultimate goal is for Iran to one day be held accountable for these crimes,” Ardakani said. “Exposing crimes is not a crime. Arbitrary arrests, blinding protesters, using the death penalty to silence dissent and systematic violence are part of Iran’s record over decades – and those who speak about this reality are innocent.”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee condemned Mohammadi’s arrest last week and called on Tehran to specify Mohammadi’s place of detention, ensure her safety and well-being, and release her unconditionally.
