Human rights groups have raised the alarm over the growing number of death sentences and executions in Iran, after reports that a 23-year-old woman, Najmeh Amini, has been sentenced to death for blasphemy over a social-media post. Amini, an accounting student, is being held in Vakilabad prison in the north-east city of Mashhad. She has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison and death in separate cases heard by a revolutionary and a criminal court.
A source close to Amini’s family told the US-based Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI) that Amini was sentenced to death on charges of “sab ol-nabi” (insulting the prophet). In the second case, Amini was sentenced to 12 years, six months and one day on charges including acting against national security and spreading propaganda against the regime. Amini was arrested by security forces during January’s nationwide protests, which were suppressed with a deadly crackdown.
Thousands were reported killed, while the HRAI news agency, Hrana, said more than 50,000 people were arrested. In an audio recording released from the prison last month, Amini appealed for international intervention, calling on the UN, lawyers and rights groups to investigate her case. I only want one thing: be my voice,” she said.
A family that every night, with the fear of losing me, turns their night into morning.” Rights groups warn that the Iranian authorities are increasingly using capital punishment to instil fear and suppress dissent. According to the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO), more than 600 executions have already been carried out this year. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of IHRNGO, said Amini’s case should be seen as a serious warning.
Amiry-Moghaddam added that the Iranian authorities were testing the international community’s “tolerance” towards capital punishment. Under article 262 of Iran’s Islamic penal code, insulting the prophet Muhammad or revered Shia figures is punishable by death. However, article 263 provides exemptions for statements made while intoxicated or without deliberate intent, although offenders may still face up to 74 lashes in certain circumstances.
According to the Iranian newspaper Khorasan, which confirmed the judicial proceedings, Amini told the court she had posted the remarks while hallucinating after taking psychedelic mushrooms with friends and her defence argued it was a “slip of the tongue”. The presiding judge rejected her defence, reportedly asking: “Why, in that same hallucinatory state, did you not insult other individuals or opponents of the regime, such as America and Israel?” Amini’s death sentence is not final and remains subject to appeal before Iran’s supreme court. The student’s sentencing comes at a time when Iranian lawmakers are seeking to criminalise contact with all foreign media, including posts on social media deemed to be financed by another country.
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