Narges MohammadiтАЩs 16-year-old son, Ali, who lives in Paris, was in school when the Nobel Peace Prize was announced on Friday. He kept refreshing his phone under the table until 11 a.m. struck тАФ and his motherтАЩs name flashed across the screen.
тАЬMy heart stopped,тАЭ Ali said afterward in an interview inside the Paris apartment where he and his twin sister, Kiana, live with their father, Taghi Rahmani, Ms. MohammadiтАЩs husband.
тАЬI couldnтАЩt shout in class, but I was so happy,тАЭ added Ali, who has been separated from his mother since 2015 and last spoke to her over a year ago. She is serving a 10-year jail sentence in TehranтАЩs Evin Prison for тАЬspreading anti-state propaganda.тАЭ
The familyтАЩs small apartment was abuzz with activity as visitors and reporters squeezed in and out, and as Mr. Rahmani fielded dozens of telephone interviews in Persian with news outlets from all over the world, mint tea in hand and sharing chocolates.
тАЬWe want the voice of the Iranian people to be amplified from the inside,тАЭ Mr. Rahmani said through an interpreter, sitting on a blue couch not far from a framed picture of him and his wife that sat on a bookshelf.
He said he and his children had not yet spoken with Ms. Mohammadi about her Nobel news, because they cannot call the prison where she is held.
тАЬWe are afraid for my mom every day,тАЭ Ali added. тАЬThe Nobel Prize is a sign for her to continue straight on, to not abandon the fight.тАЭ
Ali described his mother as тАЬextremely kindтАЭ and extremely determined, тАЬsomeone who will always speak the truth, even with a gun to her head.тАЭ
He said his mother wanted to stay in Iran and continue her rights advocacy. But the activism has come at a cost, with the family fearing for her safety every day, and living in a separate country from her.
тАЬThis is part of the system of invisible torture of Iran,тАЭ Ali said, тАЬhow they want to break people.тАЭ
