Najmeh Amini appealed from prison for international intervention. She was also sentenced to more than 12 years for ‘acting against national security’ and ‘spreading propaganda’ View image in fullscreen Najmeh Amini appealed from prison for international intervention. She was also sentenced to more than 12 years for ‘acting against national security’ and ‘spreading propaganda’ Rights and freedom Capital punishment Iranian woman handed death sentence for ‘blasphemy’ in social media post Rights groups warn of Tehran regime’s increasing use of executions to suppress dissent, with at least 600 this year
About this content Deepa Parent Wed 14 Oct 2026 06.00 CEST Last modified on Wed 14 Oct 2026 06.02 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google Human rights groups have raised the alarm over the growing number of death sentences and executions in Iran, after reports that a 23-year-old woman, Najmeh Amini, has been sentenced to death for blasphemy over a social-media post.
Amini, an accounting student, is being held in Vakilabad prison in the north-east city of Mashhad. She has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison and death in separate cases heard by a revolutionary and a criminal court.
A source close to Amini’s family told the US-based Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI) that Amini was sentenced to death on charges of “ sab ol-nabi ” (insulting the prophet).
In the second case, Amini was sentenced to 12 years, six months and one day on charges including acting against national security and spreading propaganda against the regime.
Amini was arrested by security forces during January’s nationwide protests , which were suppressed with a deadly crackdown. Thousands were reported killed, while the HRAI news agency, Hrana, said more than 50,000 people were arrested.
In an audio recording released from the prison last month, Amini appealed for international intervention, calling on the UN, lawyers and rights groups to investigate her case.
“I do not want to make a hero out of myself today. I only want one thing: be my voice,” she said.
“I am an innocent young girl with so many hopes and dreams,” Amini said. “I have parents who are waiting for me. A family that every night, with the fear of losing me, turns their night into morning.”
Rights groups warn that the Iranian authorities are increasingly using capital punishment to instil fear and suppress dissent. According to the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO), more than 600 executions have already been carried out this year.
View image in fullscreen Iranians block a Tehran street during nationwide protests in January, which were sparked by the weak economy but became political and anti-regime. Photograph: Mahsa/Middle East Images/AFP Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of IHRNGO, said Amini’s case should be seen as a serious warning.
“Sentencing a young woman to death for what she posted on social media risks normalising the use of the death penalty against peaceful expression and pushing the boundaries of the death penalty even further,” he said.
Amiry-Moghaddam added that the Iranian authorities were testing the international community’s “tolerance” towards capital punishment. “If the international community does not respond firmly now, cases like this could become far more common,” he said.
Under article 262 of Iran’s Islamic penal code, insulting the prophet Muhammad or revered Shia figures is punishable by death. However, article 263 provides exemptions for statements made…