Yesterday, Iranian security forces violently arrested Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi (@nargesfnd) while she attended a memorial ceremony for the human rights lawyer Khosrow Alikordi. She was not arrested for a crime. She was seized for her courage, for refusing to accept humiliation as destiny, and for defending the equal dignity of women and the basic rights of every human being.

Narges Mohammadi’s name has become a shield for countless Iranians who have been told to live in silence. The Islamic Republic understands what dictatorships always understand: a fearless voice, once heard, cannot be unheard. That is why they strike in public. That is why they choose brutality. They want to teach an entire society that even grief is forbidden when it becomes solidarity.

This arrest is a confession of fear.

In Oslo this week, the world honored the power of conscience. I said to the “citizens of the world” that our struggle is a long march toward freedom. That march is not Venezuelan alone. It is Iranian. It is universal. And it advances every time a woman like Narges turns pain into truth, and truth into action.

Iran’s regime has harassed and imprisoned Narges for years, including under harsh conditions and with grave concerns about her health. Re-arresting her now, at a memorial, in front of others, is a calculated warning: they are trying to cut off the attention, the solidarity, and the moral pressure that protect political prisoners and expose tyranny.

To the governments of democratic nations, to international organizations, and to every Nobel Peace Prize laureate and human rights defender: this is a moment that demands more than statements.

We call for:
• The immediate and unconditional release of Narges Mohammadi and all others detained at the memorial.
• Proof of life, access to her family and lawyers, and independent medical care without interference.
• Coordinated diplomatic pressure and targeted consequences against those responsible for political imprisonment and violence against peaceful civic life.
• Sustained support for Iranian civil society, especially women, who are confronting a system built on intimidation.

Authoritarianism survives when it is allowed to operate in the shadows, when the world treats repression as “internal affairs”, and political imprisonment as background noise. We must end that complicity. Dictatorships learn from one another. They cooperate. They trade methods, technology, and impunity. Our answer must be unity: principled, organized, and relentless.

To Narges Mohammadi, to the women of Iran, to every political prisoner and every family waiting outside prison walls: you are not alone. From Venezuela, where we know the cost of tyranny and the force of civic courage, we stand with you.

They can arrest a person. They cannot arrest the truth.