Case Details
Zahra Tabari, a 67-year-old electrical engineer and women's rights activist, faces the death penalty in Iran. She was convicted of "armed rebellion" by a Revolutionary Court in Rasht following her arrest in April. Her family reported that the trial, conducted via video link, concluded in under 10 minutes. The verdict was reportedly based on a piece of cloth inscribed with "Woman, Resistance, Freedom" and an unpublished audio message. Ms. Tabari was accused of collaboration with the banned opposition group, the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI). Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on the case.
International Concerns
UN experts, including special rapporteurs on human rights in Iran, violence against women, and arbitrary executions, alongside members of the working group on discrimination against women and girls, have issued a joint statement. They warned that Ms. Tabari’s case demonstrates a pattern of serious procedural irregularities and potential violations of international human rights law.
Key concerns highlighted by the experts include:
- Arrest without a judicial warrant.
- Interrogation for one month in solitary confinement.
- Allegations of pressure to confess to taking up arms against the state and membership in an opposition group.
- Denial of access to a lawyer of her choice; she was represented by a court-appointed lawyer.
- The death sentence was issued immediately after a brief hearing.
- The perceived insufficiency of evidence to support the "armed rebellion" charge.
The experts emphasized that international law restricts the death penalty to the most serious crimes, defined as intentional killing. They stated that executing Ms. Tabari under these circumstances would constitute an arbitrary execution and that criminalizing women's activism for gender equality, treating it as evidence of armed rebellion, constitutes a grave form of gender discrimination.
Calls for Release
A public appeal for Ms. Tabari's immediate release was signed by over 400 prominent women, including Nobel laureates and former heads of state or government from countries such as Switzerland, Ecuador, Finland, Peru, Poland, and Ukraine. This appeal was organized by Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran, a UK-based group. The appeal described Iran as the "world's number one executioner of women per capita" and highlighted the perceived severity of charges related to women's resistance.
Broader Context
Another Iranian woman, Kurdish rights activist and social worker Pakhshan Azizi, is also reported to be facing the death penalty on a similar charge. UN experts have previously indicated that Ms. Azizi's sentencing appeared to be related to her work as a social worker, including supporting refugees in Iraq and Syria.
According to Iran Human Rights (IHR), a Norway-based group, at least 1,426 individuals, including 41 women, were executed in Iran during the first 11 months of 2025. This represents a 70% increase compared to the same period in the previous year. The report indicates that nearly half of these executions were for drug-related offenses, while 53 were for national security offenses. At least 51 other individuals are reportedly facing the death penalty in Iran for national security offenses, including "enmity against God," "corruption on Earth," and espionage.