Femena strongly condemns the death sentence handed down to Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, a 67-year-old Iranian political prisoner, on charges of alleged collaboration with groups opposing the Islamic Republic. The sentence was issued by a revolutionary court in Rasht following a deeply flawed and unjust legal process.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), authorities accused Shahbaz Tabari of having ties to the exiled opposition group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)—an allegation her family categorically denies.
The verdict was delivered last week by Judge Ahmad Darvish of Branch One of the Rasht Revolutionary Court after a brief video hearing lasting less than ten minutes. Her family has described the proceedings as a “sham” and “illegal.” Shahbaz Tabari was denied access to an independent lawyer, and the court-appointed attorney reportedly failed to defend her, instead endorsing the pre-determined verdict.
Shahbaz Tabari was first arrested on April 17, 2025, at her home in Rasht. Security agents searched the family residence and confiscated personal belongings during the arrest. She has since been held in Lakan Prison and was tried via video conference.
This is not her first experience of persecution. In May 2022, she was arrested and detained for three months on charges of “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.”
Following her release, she was fitted with an electronic ankle monitor for one year and forced to pay a fine.
Femena calls on Iranian authorities to immediately revoke the death sentence against Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, ensure her unconditional release, and uphold her fundamental rights to due process and legal representation.
The continued use of death sentences constitutes a grave violation of international human rights standards. Femena urges the international community, including the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, to take urgent action to address the alarming rise in executions and the growing number of political prisoners on death row in Iran.