(Bonn, 05.05.2023) For her “outstanding courage” and “extraordinary selflessness”, Iranian civil rights activist Mary Mohammadi was awarded this year’s St. Stephen’s Award for Persecuted Christians at a ceremony in Bonn on April 22, 2023.

The 24-year-old has not only personally claimed the right to change her faith in Iran, where turning away from Islam is considered a crime. She has also gathered and published information about the persecution of dissidents by the totalitarian dictatorship, including the inhumane treatment of prisoners in Qarchak and Fashafoye prisons. She was arrested several times and imprisoned twice for extended periods, most recently in 2020, when the U.S. government at the time advocated for her in public speeches or interviews.

Laudator Michael Brand, human rights policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the German Bundestag, described the laureate’s commitment to her faith and to human rights as “incredible” and “heroic” and what she suffered, including imprisonment, torture and mistreatment, as “martyrdom”. He had followed her fate as a political godfather and campaigned for her release.

“But no one could break this courageous young woman deeply rooted in her faith. The example spread like wildfire”, Brand said. Around the world, her case caused a stir and ultimately spurred discussion about what religious freedom—the right to choose to profess one’s faith—means.