Iran Sentences Two Women to Death Over 2026 Protests, Rights Groups Say

Two Iranian women face execution in separate cases linked to the anti-government protests that shook the country in January. Both cases concern incidents in Isfahan, a center of protest activity during demonstrations that peaked on the nights of Jan. 8 and 9.

Taraneh Rahimi, 20, received a death sentence alongside nine men over incidents in an Isfahan square where two people died, including a security-force member, rights groups Hengaw and HRANA said. Other defendants received prison terms of up to 36 years, including Rahimi’s sister, Romina.

HRANA said the defense lawyers lacked access to a substantial part of the case file and had not received enough time to examine the documents and evidence. The group described those shortcomings in a statement: "Defendants' lawyers did not have access to a substantial portion of the case file and objected that they had not been given sufficient time to review the documents and evidence."

In the second case, an Isfahan court convicted Leila Abolhasani, a 43-year-old mother of two teenagers, of setting fire to a store during the protests. The Dadban legal monitor and HRANA said relatives denied the accusation, saying Abolhasani had only been present and was filming the burning shop. The court convicted her of "waging war against God", and the case has gone to the Supreme Court for review.

Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based organization, said authorities had already executed 29 men on protest-related charges amid the war with the United States. No woman has been executed over the unrest, although the group said Iran had hanged at least 16 women this year on other charges. A death sentence previously imposed on another protest defendant, Bita Hemmati, was overturned, HRANA said in April.

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Defendants' lawyers did not have access to a substantial portion of the case file and objected that they had not been given sufficient time to review the documents and evidence.