Iranian WHRD and labor rights activist Sharifeh Mohammadi has been sentenced to death for a second time, according to her lawyers. On October 12, 2024, Mohammadi’s lawyers announced that Iran’s Supreme Court (Branch 39) had overturned her initial death sentence and referred her case back to the Revolutionary Court for retrial. However, instead of ensuring a fair legal process, the authorities reinstated the death sentence, deepening concerns about the judiciary’s lack of impartiality and the predetermined nature of the case against her. Reports indicate that the judge presiding over her retrial is the son of the judge from her initial trial, further reinforcing concerns over systemic judicial bias and the absence of due process.
The Campaign to Defend Mohammadi previously stated that her death sentence was issued under the pretext of her past affiliation—over a decade ago—with an independent, public, and legally recognized labor organization. This highlights the arbitrary and baseless nature of the charges against her.
Sharifeh Mohammadi was arrested on December 5, 2023, in Rasht and has been detained ever since. She was held in solitary confinement for 26 days before being transferred to Sanandaj Prison on December 31, 2023. Throughout this period, she was denied access to her lawyer and only permitted two phone calls, including one to her 11-year-old son. On February 28, 2024, she was transferred back to Lakan Prison in Rasht, where she remains in detention.
The news of her second death sentence comes just weeks after the appeal court upheld the execution ruling for Pakhshan Azizi, another Iranian woman activist. The growing number of politically motivated death sentences has sent shockwaves through Iranian civil society, which continues to demand the abolition of the death penalty and an end to the criminalization of peaceful activism.
Femena strongly condemns the unjust and politically motivated death sentence against Sharifeh Mohammadi and demands her immediate and unconditional release. We emphasize that Mohammadi, like many other activists in Iran, is being persecuted solely for her peaceful activism and advocacy for labor rights. We call on the international community, human rights organizations, and global civil society to amplify the voices of Sharifeh Mohammadi, Pakhshan Azizi, and Varisheh Moradi, each of whom faces imminent execution. The Iranian authorities’ continued use of capital punishment as a tool to silence dissent represents a grave violation of human rights that must be met with urgent international action.