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Human rights organizations have raised the alarm over the growing number of death sentences and executions in Iran, following news that a 23-year-old woman, Najmeh Amini, was given the death penalty for blasphemy over a social media post. The Guardian reports it.
Two trials, two convictions
Amini, an accounting student, is detained in Vakilabad prison in the north-eastern city of Mashhad. She was sentenced to over 12 years in prison and the death penalty in two separate trials, held respectively before a revolutionary court and an ordinary criminal court. A source close to Amini’s family told the US-based Human Rights Activists in Iran (Hrai) organization that the young woman was sentenced to death on charges of “sab ol-nabi” (insulting the prophet). The girl was reportedly arrested following online monitoring by the Iranian Cyber Police (Fata). The exact content of his posts has not been made public.
In the second case, Amini was sentenced to 12 years, six months and one day in prison on charges including acting against national security and spreading “propaganda” against the regime.
The arrest during the protests and the audio appeal
Amini was arrested by security forces during nationwide protests in January, which were put down in a bloody crackdown. Thousands of people were estimated to have been killed, while the HRAI news agency, Hrana, reported more than 50,000 arrests. In an audio recording released last month and attributed to Amini, the young woman called for international intervention, urging the UN, lawyers and human rights organizations to investigate her case. «I don’t want to be seen as a heroine today. I only want one thing: be my voice”, was Amini’s appeal.
Over 600 executions since the beginning of the year
Human rights organizations report that Iranian authorities are increasingly using capital punishment to instill fear and suppress dissent. According to the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights organization (Ihrngo), more than 600 death sentences have already been carried out this year.
“Sentencing a young woman to death for what she posted on social media risks normalizing the use of capital punishment against forms of peaceful expression and further extending the boundaries of such punishment,” said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Ihrngo.
Although executions in Iran have soared in recent years, reaching the highest level in three decades, death sentences for blasphemy remain relatively rare. The last documented case dates back to May 8, 2023, when Yousef Mehrad and Sadrollah Fazeli-Zare were executed after being convicted of blasphemy-related crimes related to their social media activity.