The Iranian rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was transferred to a hospital amid concerns that her health is deteriorating after years in detention, a symbol of Tehran’s growing suppression of dissent.

US President Donald Trump vowed to oust the Iranian regime at the start of the war against the country, but the conflict has in fact led to more repressive rule as hardliners have tightened their grip.

Thousands have been arrested or killed this year alone in anti-government protests, while the opposition appears to have weakened, with many members held in detention indefinitely.

“Authoritarian regimes do not always need an executioner’s rope,” Mohammadi said. “Sometimes, they simply wait for the human body to fail.”