Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Iranian female activist Nargis Mohammadi

Rees-Anderson said, 'First of all, this award is a recognition of the tremendous work done by the entire movement in Iran and its undisputed leader, Nargis Mohammadi. It is not the job of the Nobel Committee to decide on the impact of the prize. We hope this will encourage the movement to continue, in whatever form it takes.'

Before Mohammadi, Shirin Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003. Mohammadi was recently jailed for sparking nationwide protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Amini died after being detained by the country's moral police. His death posed one of the biggest challenges to Iran's religion-based regime since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In the movement that started across the country after Amini's death, more than 500 people were killed in the action of security forces while about 22 thousand people were arrested.

The Nobel Prize carries a cash prize of 11 million Swedish kronor (about 1 million US dollars or Rs 8 crore). The winners are also presented with an 18 karat gold medal and diploma at the awards ceremony in December. The winner of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize was selected by a Norwegian expert committee from among 350 nominees. Last year's Nobel Prize was won by human rights activists from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. The award was then seen as a strong message to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart and allies.