Fears grow for women’s rights activists imprisoned in Iran after 87 executions in one month

Two veiled women in a prison cell

Fears are mounting for the fate of women’s rights activists imprisoned in Iran after a surge in executions since the election of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, in July.

At least 87 people were reportedly executed in July, and 29 more in a single day this month. Among the mass executions was Reza Rasaei, a young man sentenced to death for his participation in the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests.

Human rights groups fear further executions ahead of the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death in custody and the unprecedented nationwide protests that followed. Amini, who was 22, was arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code before her death in September 2022.

Around 70 women are currently believed to be held as political prisoners in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, including two who have been sentenced to death: Iranian Kurdish journalist Pakhshan Azizi and industrial engineer and women’s rights activist Sharifeh Mohammadi. Two other activists – Varisheh Moradi and Nasim Gholami Simiyari – have been charged with the same offences, but it is not yet clear whether they will be sentenced to death.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said several female political prisoners are at risk of execution on “false charges.”

“Faced with a women’s movement in Iran that refuses to back down, the Islamic Republic’s authorities are now trying to threaten these women with the gallows, in a desperate attempt to silence dissent,” said Hadi Ghaemi, CHRI’s executive director.

The family of imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner and prominent activist Narges Mohammadi says she was among women in Evin Prison who were allegedly injured after being beaten by guards for staging a protest in the prison yard against Rasaei’s execution.

Activists hold a poster of Reza Rasaei during a “Unite Against Executions in Iran” protest in Edmonton, Canada, on January 27, 2024. Resaei was one of 29 people executed in August. Photography: NurPhoto/Getty Images

The family issued a statement saying that after the August 6 protests, the women’s ward was invaded by prison guards and security officers, and an order was given to attack the protesters. Several women who stood in front of the security forces were severely beaten. The family said they were told that Narges collapsed and fainted after being repeatedly beaten by the guards. UN human rights experts have condemned reports that the women were denied access to timely and appropriate health care.

Azizi and Sharifeh Mohammadi were sentenced to death in July for “armed rebellion against the state.”

Azizi, a 40-year-old Kurdish women’s rights activist and social worker, was reportedly tortured during interrogation, including mock executions. In a letter written from Evin Prison titled “Denying the Truth and Its Alternative” and published by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, she said she was tortured, subjected to mock executions, and placed in solitary confinement.

Zeinab Bayazidi, a former political prisoner and friend of Azizi, told the Guardian that the death sentences against women and ethnic minorities were aimed at dismantling the unified struggle against the regime.

“The Islamic Republic (competes with) the revolution of Women, Life, Freedom that crossed all borders, from Kurdistan to Balochistan and Tehran, and sparked solidarity and empathy and a revolution at this level, which is unprecedented so far,” she said.

Sharifeh Mohammadi, 45, was arrested at her home in Rasht in December 2023, according to human rights activists.

Related: Iranian woman reportedly paralyzed after shooting for alleged hijab violation

Speaking to the Guardian on condition of anonymity, a close family member said they were shocked and “never imagined Sharifeh would be sentenced to death”. They added that Sharifeh was also “shocked” that she had hoped to be granted bail.

“Women were among the strongest to oppose the regime during the Women, Life, Freedom movement. I think that by condemning Sharifeh and others, they are taking revenge.”

Evin Prison in Tehran, June 2006. Women reported being severely beaten after protests against Rasaei’s execution. Photograph: Morteza Nikoubazl/Reuters

Sharifeh’s family said they were reluctant to tell their 12-year-old son the news of her death sentence. “It’s very difficult and we are trying to get help from a child counselor to break the news to him in the least possible way.”

A UN fact-finding mission on Iran said this month that minorities in Iran had been disproportionately affected by a “striking increase in executions since the September 2022 protests,” with several death sentences recently handed down to women from ethnic minorities.

Activists warned that the crackdown on women activists was also manifested in long prison sentences based on false accusations and forced confessions.

Soma Rostami of the Hengaw Human Rights Organization said: “It is clear to everyone that the sole purpose of the executions by the Islamic Republic of Iran is to spread fear among the population. Women’s rights activists have been under severe pressure and all kinds of repressions have been carried out to prevent women-led protests from happening again.”