Fears grow for female political prisoners in Iran after executions

There are fears for the fates 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.

- Deepa Parent, Annie Kelly

At least 87 people were reportedly executed in July, with another 29 executed on one day this month.

The mass executions included that of Reza Rasaei, a young man sentenced to death for his participation in the Woman, Life, Freedom protests.

Human rights organisations fear further executions in the lead-up to the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in custody and the nationwide protests that followed.

Amini, 22, had been arrested for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code before she died in September 2022.

About 70 women are now reported to be held as political prisoners in the notorious Evin prison, including two who have been given death sentences: the Iranian Kurdish journalist Pakhshan Azizi and the industrial engineer and women's rights activist Sharifeh Mohammadi. Two more activists, Varisheh Moradi and Nasim Gholami Simiyari, have been given the same charges but are still to learn if they will be sentenced to death.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said multiple female political prisoners were at risk of executions based on "sham charges".