Iran's Supreme Court Upholds Activist's Second Death Sentence

Summary

Iran's Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence against labor activist Sharifeh Mohammadi, despite previous legal ambiguities.
Her family denies allegations of rebellion and political ties, claiming she was tortured and held in solitary confinement.
In a recent report, Human Rights Watch said Iran "remains one of the world's top practitioners of the death penalty."

Iran's top court has upheld the death sentence against imprisoned labor activist Sharifeh Mohammadi, months after overturning her first death sentence due to legal ambiguities.

The first death sentence was overturned in October 2024, when the Supreme Court said it had "flaws and ambiguities."

A second ruling was imposed in February.

Now, Mohammadi's lawyer, Amir Raeesian, has told the Iranian daily Sharq that a lower court has upheld this sentence despite the "flaws and ambiguities" remaining unaddressed.

"The ruling is a repeat of the last verdict, and the expectation was that the Supreme Court would overturn it again," Raeesian said, adding that he plans to appeal the decision.

Mohammadi's cousin, Vida Mohammadi, claims the judge presiding over the new court is the son of the judge who issued the initial death sentence.

Speaking to RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Vida Mohammadi said her cousin's case "was not based on justice from the outset but rather on a scenario fabricated by the Intelligence Ministry. The process of her arrest, interrogation, accusations, and sentencing shows not the slightest trace of an independent or impartial trial."

Mohammadi was initially sentenced to death in July 2024 on charges of "armed rebellion against the state" as well as membership in an independent labor union and a banned Kurdish separatist organization based in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Her family denies the accusations, saying she had no ties to any political group inside or outside the country.

According to her family, she was tortured in prison following her arrest and spent several months in solitary confinement.

In its most recent annual report, Human Rights Watch said Iran "remains one of the world's top practitioners of the death penalty," accusing it of applying capital punishment to "individuals charged with vague national security offenses, and sometimes for non-violent crimes."

Iran executed at least 901 people in 2024 -- including 31 women -- a nine-year high that prompted UN High Commissioner Volker Turk to urge Tehran to stem "this ever-swelling tide of executions."