SHAHLA MOHAMMADI

NEWS CENTER_ In recent months, harsh judicial rulings have escalated in Iran, from long prison sentences to death sentences, amid increasing pressures on protesters and activists, especially women. Recently, death sentences issued against Majdeh Hashemi Bazargani and Najmeh Amini were upheld, while reports indicated that Mahboubeh Shaabani was transferred to solitary confinement.

This comes in the context of harsh sentences and death sentences previously issued or upheld against a number of women, including Bakhshan Azizi, Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, Leila Abolhassani, Taranah Rahimi, Souda Ebrahimi, and Maryam Hedavand.

To talk more broadly about this issue and the underlying reasons behind the issuance of harsh sentences against female political prisoners under the current circumstances Iran is going through, our agency conducted the following dialogue with the spokesperson for the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners, Shiva Mahboubi:

How has the judiciary's approach toward protesters changed? Why do execution and imprisonment remain among the most prominent tools for suppressing opponents? And what is the situation of detainees against the backdrop of the January 2026 protests?

The government and judicial apparatus's approach is based on comprehensive repression, the issuance of harsh sentences, execution, forced confessions, and pressure on families. This policy of repression has intensified under the conditions of war and inflation, as a result of fear of popular protests, leading to an unprecedented wave of executions, often carried out secretly.

In this context, pressure on female political prisoners has increased remarkably; to the extent that about 60 women face the risk of execution on charges such as "muharaba" and "baghy." Reports also indicate that Najmeh Amini and Mahboubeh Shaabani were shackled to beds in Vakil Abad Prison in Mashhad, and flogging sentences were issued against activists such as Parastou Ahmadi and Sahar Mamizadeh, which reveals the dimensions of these systematic practices.

The government has militarized cities and devoted its capabilities to suppressing upcoming protests. In this chain of repression, women are specifically targeted because of their courageous presence in the front ranks of the "Jin Jiyan Azadî" movement and their refusal to remain silent.

What tools and powers do the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, and the Security Council possess to press for a halt to executions and the release of political prisoners in Iran?

Governments and international institutions possess most of the necessary tools, such as severing diplomatic relations, closing embassies, freezing or confiscating the assets of the Revolutionary Guard and senior regime officials. These measures can impose real pressure. As for general sanctions, they only increase pressure on the people, while specifically targeting the wealth of those connected to the government can be effective, and unfortunately this does not happen.

Issuing condemnation statements without taking practical measures is often nothing more than an evasion of responsibility. When the government sees that diplomatic relations and visits continue, and that the wealth of the Revolutionary Guard is not frozen, it does not attach importance to these statements.

On the other hand, Western media also bear responsibility when they give platforms to justifiers, such as Marandi, who work to normalize and justify torture practices, such as the 74 lashes against Parastou Ahmadi. Governments also bear responsibility for ignoring forced confessions extracted under torture, such as the case of Arjin Jundi. Likewise, the meeting of foreign ministers with government officials without raising the issue of political prisoners practically proves the ineffectiveness of these statements.