Human Rights
French Lawmakers Sponsor Death-Row Prisoners As Iran Ramps Up Executions
A group of 75 French lawmakers have taken the unusual step of formally sponsoring individual death-row political prisoners in Iran as the country's authorities continue to ramp up executions.
The move, taken on June 29 as part of a new National Assembly campaign organized by the Iran Freedom Congress (IFC), marked the IFC's first international human rights campaign since the group's founding earlier this year.
Under the sponsorship mechanism, each participating MP publicly attaches their name to an individual prisoner sentenced to death or facing imminent execution to give each case a parliamentary backer and a diplomatic pressure point.
Negin Shiraghaei, a member of the IFC’s Central Council, said the campaign took shape almost immediately after the congress's founding, calling the rise in executions an urgent priority "from literally the first day," despite the body being less than two months old.
Speaking to RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, she said that the choice of France was deliberate, citing the country's abolition of capital punishment 45 years ago as added leverage.
Shiraghaei described the sponsorship campaign as working on multiple levels.
Public pressure from foreign parliamentarians is felt both by Tehran and by their own governments, she said, while stressing that symbolic measures alone are "not enough by themselves" and need to be paired with concrete follow-through.
Among the IFC's specific requests, she said, is that foreign embassies request daily physical observers at the trials of those facing execution -- a demand Tehran "may not even agree" to, but one meant to signal that defendants have international backing.
Shiraghaei also argued that human rights should be made a nonnegotiable item in any future talks between Western governments and Tehran, criticizing what she called a pattern of human rights being set aside once economic or political interests are at stake in negotiations.
Since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran on February 28, the Islamic republic has arrested hundreds of people on charges of collaborating with the US and Israel, and in some cases executed them on charges of "espionage" and "acting against national security."
Iran Human Rights Monitor, a foreign-based group that documents rights abuses, characterized the pace of executions as "a political purge" exploiting wartime conditions.
"The regime's priority is not external war, but internal suppression," it said in an April statement, noting the number of political executions in the first six weeks of the war already exceeded the total for all of 2025.
Iran is one of the world's biggest executioners, hanging hundreds of people per year, many for drug-related offenses and homicide.
With reporting by Hannah Kaviani of RFE/RL's Radio Farda
- By RFE/RL and
- Will Tizard
Iranian Artist, Activist, And Filmmaker Marjane Satrapi Honored At Paris Memorial
Iranian-born author Marjane Satrapi, who wrote the hit graphic novel Persepolis, was laid to rest on June 19 in Paris amid tributes honoring her work. Her graphic novel was later adapted into a Cannes-winning animated film. Known for her wit, provocative and irreverent storytelling, and outspoken positions on human rights, Satrapi was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery amid commemorations from international artists.
- By Ray Furlong
Tehran's Crackdown On Political Dissent Continuing Unabated
Recent reports from Iran suggest that an intense crackdown on political opposition within the country that began during mass protests in January is continuing unabated.
On June 13, the Iranian Writers' Association announced Yousef Ansari, a poet and novelist arrested on January 8, had received a sentence of four months in prison plus another eight months suspended.
RFE/RL's Radio Farda learned that Fereydoun Farahani, a music professor and visiting professor of architecture at Pars University, had been arrested for social media posts he made during the demonstrations.
He had posted a song called In Praise Of The Nation's Desire For Freedom on his Instagram.
In Isfahan Province, the judiciary announced that 100 "traitors" would have their property confiscated, without providing any further details.
For several weeks now, the Iranian authorities have announced similar measures against hundreds of people.
The Iran Human Rights Group, a watchdog based in Norway, reported on June 8 that at least 40 prisoners, including 19 protesters, had been hanged on politically motivated charges so far this year.
Also on June 13, the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, reported that a suspect had been arrested for being "in contact with foreign espionage elements."
Separately, the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Unions released in a statement on June 13 condemning the security pressure, arrests, judicial rulings, and restrictions imposed on teachers' union activists, saying they cannot be considered isolated incidents.
Such actions are "a clear and organized pattern to weaken independent teachers' unions and silence the voice of society's demands," the statement said.
Another part of the crackdown has been the increasing use of a new law introduced following the 12-day war with Israel last year, expanding penalties for alleged espionage.
Some of those charged with spying have been hanged, along with dozens of other political prisoners, in recent weeks.
The scale of the repression, which began with security forces killing thousands of protesters in January, has drawn widespread international condemnation.
In recent days, a number of Nobel laureates have raised their voices on this.
Some 16 laureates told RFE/RL that they were among the 75 prize winners listed on a letter organized by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as belonging to the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), an exiled opposition group that Iran considers a terrorist organization but which was removed from US and EU terrorism lists more than a decade ago.
These included Barry Barish and Reinhard Genzel, prize winners for physics in 2017 and 2020 respectively, Oliver Hart, prize winner for economics in 2016, and Brian Kobilka, the winner for chemistry in 2012.
The letter expresses "deep and urgent concern regarding the widespread, systematic, and ongoing violations of human rights in Iran."
"I signed it to protest the execution of political prisoners," Jack Szostak, Nobel laureate for medicine in 2009, told RFE/RL in an e-mail.
Another signatory, 2014 medicine laureate May-Britt Moser, told RFE/RL she signed "because I think it is horrible to kill people, and most of these people are completely innocent."
In a report from late May, Amnesty International announced that at least 78 protesters and political prisoners sentenced sentenced to death were at risk of execution, including at least 41 people who were arrested in relation to the January protests.
- By RFE/RL's Radio Farda and
- Will Tizard
Iran Executes 2 More Over January Protests, Jails Man 10 Years For Filming
Two more men have been executed in Iran in connection with the January protests with human rights groups condemning growing repression in the country. Iran's judiciary announced on June 1 that the men were hanged after being convicted of attacking a mosque. More than 40 people have now been executed in Iran since the start of the war with the United States and Israel. An Iranian man was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for simply shooting video of protests that first erupted in December 2025 over economic hardship.
Iran Has Carried Out Nearly 30 Political Executions Since Start Of US-Israel War
Iran executed two men on May 13 as the accelerated campaign of political hangings since the start of the war with the United States and Israel shows no signs of abating.
Ehsan Afrashteh, a cybersecurity and network specialist, was hanged on charges of espionage for Israel, Tehran's archfoe, early in the day.
By late evening, Mohammad Abbasi, who took part in mass protests in January, was executed at Ghezel Hesar Prison on charges of killing a security officer in Malard, a town near Tehran.
Abbasi's family was summoned to prison for what they were told would be a visit, only to be turned away at the gate, according to the US-based rights group HRANA. They later learned of his execution by phone.
The Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency framed his hanging as "qisas," an Islamic concept that refers to a retributive execution carried out at the request of the victim's family.
The Islamic republic had published footage of his trial, in which he was accused of killing a member of the security forces during the peak of the mass protests on January 8-9.
Weeks of nationwide demonstrations against Iran's clerical rulers erupted in late December. The authorities responded with an unprecedented crackdown, killing several thousand protesters.
In Afrashteh's case, two sources who spoke to RFE/RL's Radio Farda said he was approached by a foreign intelligence service while visiting Turkey. He informed Iran's Intelligence Ministry before he returned home only to be arrested at Imam Khomeini International Airport the moment he landed and transferred to prison, the sources said.
HRANA had previously reported that Afrashteh's confessions during detention were "fabricated," he had rejected the charges, and his family's assets had been seized and relatives placed under surveillance.
Rights groups and sources close to the family say Afrashteh's case illustrates the Islamic republic's use of forced confessions and wartime courts to eliminate perceived security threats.
'Political Purge'
The executions are the latest in an intensifying campaign of hangings since March 18 -- weeks after the United States and Israel launched a bombing campaign of Iran.
There have been at least 29 confirmed political executions since then. They fall under three broad categories: protesters who took part in the mass demonstrations in January and charged with moharebeh, or "enmity against God"; members or alleged members of the exiled opposition group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) convicted of armed rebellion; and those convicted of spying for the CIA or Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.
Rights organizations have condemned the trials of those executed. The Oslo-based Center for Human Rights in Iran in April said many of the trials were marked by "torture, forced confessions, and the complete absence of due process."
Iran Human Rights Monitor, a foreign-based group that documents human rights abuses, characterized the pace of executions as "a political purge" exploiting wartime conditions.
"The regime's priority is not external war, but internal suppression," it said in an April statement, noting the number of political executions in the first six weeks of the war already exceeded the total for all of 2025.
Last month, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk called on Iran to "establish a moratorium on the use of capital punishment" and release prisoners "arbitrarily detained."
"I am appalled that -- on top of the already severe impacts of the conflict -- the rights of the Iranian people continue to be stripped from them by the authorities, in harsh and brutal ways," he said.
Iran is one of the world's biggest executioners, hanging hundreds of people per year, many for drug-related offenses and homicide.
Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi In Critical Condition After Transfer To Tehran Hospital
The brother of imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi says doctors cannot yet offer a definitive prognosis on her condition, days after Iranian authorities released her on bail amid a health crisis that her family says nearly killed her.
Hamidreza Mohammadi told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda on May 12 that after 10 days in the critical care unit of a hospital in the northwestern city of Zanjan, the family arranged their own ambulance to transport her to Tehran, where she is now being treated by a medical team. He said her blood pressure had dropped to critically low levels during her hospitalization.
"The doctors cannot say anything definitive because Narges's medical file is complicated," he said, citing her underlying health conditions, including cardiac inflammation, as compounding factors.
He added that the coming week would be devoted entirely to tests and angiography to determine the extent of her health deterioration before any treatment could begin.
Mohammadi, 54, suffered a suspected heart attack in Zanjan prison on March 24 while serving a sentence that carries 18 years still to run. Her Paris-based lawyer said last week that she had lost 20 kilograms and was unrecognizable from her state before her most recent arrest in December.
In a joint statement released on May 12, more than 110 Nobel laureates urged Iranian authorities and the international community to act "without delay" to secure her release and ensure continued access to medical treatment.
"Medical experts warn that her life may be at imminent risk," the signatories said, adding that she had been denied specialized medical care for months while imprisoned.
Her brother said the Iranian judiciary did not need to resort to executions to silence activists.
"When there is a lot of noise and the attention of the international community is elsewhere, the Iranian government uses this silent killing," he said, adding that it had been the regime's plan for Mohammadi to die quietly amid the conflict with the United States and Israel, eliminating what he called one of the most powerful voices in Iranian civil society.
The warning echoes a passage from Mohammadi's forthcoming memoir, due for publication at the end of this summer, in which she writes that authoritarian regimes do not always need the gallows -- sometimes they simply wait for the body to fail.
"Every day we witness Narges getting worse," her brother said. "The question is whether we want to stop fighting to stay alive, or force [the Islamic republic] to abandon this use of prisoners' illnesses as a weapon."
Mohammadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for her decades of campaigning for human rights and women's rights in Iran.
She was unable to receive the award in person, as she was imprisoned at the time. Her foundation has called for her permanent release, saying she must never return to the conditions that caused her health to collapse.
Hannah Kaviani of RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report.
'Forced Confessions': Iranian Prisoners Speak Amid Wave Of Executions
Iran announced the hanging of three more men on May 4 as a wave of executions continued amid the backdrop of Tehran's war with the United States and Israel. Before being hanged on the weekend, another two members of Iran's Kurdish minority issued audio statements from prison. One human rights activist told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that there are concerns the rate of executions will increase as Iranian authorities attempt to instill fear in the population.
- By Ray Furlong and
- RFE/RL's Radio Farda
New Executions A Sign Of Growing Repression In Iran Amid War
Iran announced the execution of two political prisoners on March 31, a day after the death penalty was also carried out on two others, in a sign that the clerical authorities are stepping up a crackdown on internal opposition in the country.
The men, identified as Babak Alipour and Pouya Ghobadi, were accused of membership in the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), an exiled opposition group that seeks to overthrow the Islamic republic and that Tehran regards as a terrorist organization.
The executions show that despite US and Israeli strikes wiping out much of Iran's leadership and degrading its military-industrial capacities, there are no visible signs that the clerical authorities are losing control. In fact, repression appears once again to be on the rise.
The men's lawyer, Babak Paknia, wrote on social media that hours after the executions his office had still not received the verdict from the trial that sealed their fate.
"Before the sentence is carried out, it is necessary to notify its contents to the defense lawyers or at least to the defendant himself. The minimum right of the convicted person is to be able to benefit from the right to retrial and to a stay of execution," he added.
Three other men were executed earlier this month.
Torture, Confessions
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, an Iranian human rights campaigner based in Norway, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that Alipour and Ghobadi were "kept in solitary confinement for long periods after their arrest. They were tortured and confessions were extracted from them -- confessions that, even under the laws of the Islamic republic itself, are not actually legal."
In a statement responding to the executions, the MEK said "this reflects the regime's fear of the people and their embrace of the resistance units. This bloodshed will forever roll up the disgraceful scroll of the regime."
The MEK described the two men as "heroic" members, but their affiliation with the organization could not be independently confirmed.
Meanwhile, two other defendants in the same case, Vahid Bani-Amirian and Abolhassan Montazer, could face the same sentence.
"The Islamic republic's main threat -- what truly endangers its survival -- is the Iranian people and popular protests. The goal of these executions is to instill fear among the population," Amiry-Moghaddam said.
Iran was wracked by mass protests in January that were brutally suppressed by security forces. HRANA, a US-based human rights monitoring group, said it had verified nearly 7,000 deaths during Iran's crackdown on protesters in January and many more arrests. It says 1,574 civilians have died since the United States and Israel launched air strikes on Iran on February 28.
Before the strikes began, US President Donald Trump had written on social media that "help is on the way" for Iranian protesters and said achieving regime change in Iran would be "the best thing that could happen."
Recent statements by US officials, however, have not listed regime change as a campaign objective, though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters at a briefing in Washington on March 31 that "regime change has occurred" and the "primary" focus now is getting Iran to make a deal.
'Clashes' In Iranian Prison
State media have reported increasing numbers of people arrested for being "spies" and "mercenaries."
Police chief Ahmadreza Radan was quoted as reporting hundreds of arrests on various charges relating to the war. This also raises the issue of conditions within prisons.
"Access to even basic necessities is extremely limited. Food conditions were already very bad before the war, but since the war started they've become much worse," Reza Younesi, whose father is in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, told Radio Farda on March 31.
"Beyond that, the explosions in Tehran -- some of which occurred near Evin -- have had severe psychological effects on the prisoners. Fear and anxiety dominate the prison atmosphere under these wartime conditions," he added.
Younesi's brother and father are being held in different prisons, having both been accused of MEK membership.
Younesi, who now lives in Sweden, also described a riot in Iran's Ghezel Hesar Prison, where his brother is incarcerated. The incident occurred on March 30 when two prisoners there, Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi and Akbar Daneshvarkar, were taken for execution.
"Other prisoners resisted and clashes occurred," he said, adding that about 20 prisoners were taken away and "most likely transferred to solitary confinement, but we don't know exactly where they are."
These latest executions of four men, on March 30-31, follow that of three men on March 19. These three were arrested during the January protests, while those most recently executed had been in jail since 2024.
Amiry-Moghaddam, who heads a group called Iran Human Rights, said the clerical authorities in the country were using the war as a cover for executions.
"In the shadow of war, the political cost of these executions is much lower. Normally, if a protester or a political prisoner were executed, the Islamic republic would face much harsher reactions from the international community…. But now attention is focused on the war," he said.
On March 30, a UN expert panel issued a statement expressing "grave concern" about the executions carried out that day, plus the others earlier in March. The statement also condemned US and Israeli military action, stating "the people of Iran are under attack from outside and from within."
The statement also notes that Iran's authorities have imposed an Internet blackout in the country that has now lasted 32 days, "cutting people off from information and causing severe economic harm."
- By RFE/RL's Radio Farda and
- Will Tizard
Fears Spread Of More Executions After Iran Hangs 3 Over Protests
Human rights groups have condemned Iran's hanging of three men in the first executions over January protests and warned they fear more executions to come. Authorities in Iran are trying "to frighten the public" and keep them in line in order to remain in power, says Mahmoud Amiry-Moghaddam of the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights organization.
- By RFE/RL's Radio Farda and
- Will Tizard
Thousands Mourn Victims Of Strike On Iranian School
Thousands of mourners filled the streets of Minab in southern Iran to grieve for more than 100 students who were killed in a strike on a girls' school on February 28. The United States says it would not deliberately strike a school, but Iranian authorities are blaming the US and Israel.
Iran Publishes Protest Death List, But Rights Groups Say Toll Is Far Higher
The government of Iran's reformist President Masud Pezeshkian has published the names and national ID numbers of 2,985 individuals killed during recent nationwide protests.
The publication of the government-sanctioned list on February 2 has transformed newsstands into grim memorials, triggering debate over whether the move represents a genuine breakthrough in transparency or a calculated attempt to sanitize a far larger tragedy.
Released by the Pezeshkian administration, the list identifies nearly 3,000 victims. State-aligned newspapers prominently displayed the names on their front pages, portraying the disclosure as evidence of the government's "courageous transparency."
Human rights organizations and activists, however, accuse the Islamic republic of attempting to "hijack the narrative" and significantly downplay the true scale of the casualties.
The president's office has officially placed the death toll at 3,117, attributing the discrepancy between that figure and the published list to 131 unidentified bodies.
However, in an interview with RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR), said the sheer volume of names itself amounts to an admission of a "vast massacre" the state could no longer conceal.
"They couldn't satisfy public opinion with a lower figure," Amiry-Moghaddam said.
"This is an official admission of a widespread slaughter. Even 3,000 is an immense number, but based on our experience, secrecy remains at a very high level."
Rights groups say such discrepancies are consistent with past patterns. In 2024, IHR verified 503 drug-related executions in Iran, while the government officially acknowledged only 15.
The US-based rights group HRANA conducted a preliminary review of the government's list, describing it as "rushed" and riddled with spelling errors, duplicate entries, and incomplete identity details, as well as a complete absence of contextual information such as the time, location, or cause of death.
Critics argue that by failing to specify whether those killed were protesters, bystanders, or members of the security forces, the authorities have made it nearly impossible for the public to independently verify the data or hold specific officials accountable.
Public outrage has also been fueled by a scandal at the state-run Ofogh TV channel. On February 1, the host of the program Khat-Khatti (Doodle) sparked nationwide backlash after mockingly suggesting that the bodies of protesters were being stored in "supermarket freezers" or "ice-cream makers."
Reformist journalist and former Tehran mayor Gholamhossein Karbaschi said the incident exposed a deeper rot. He criticized the government for ballooning the budget of the state broadcaster (IRIB), which he described as being run by an "illiterate" group who are fundamentally disconnected from the grieving public.
While the government continues to stand by its figure of roughly 3,100 deaths, human rights defenders believe the true number of those killed during the wave of protests -- which began on December 28 -- is likely far higher.
"Our estimate, based on eyewitnesses and precise data, suggests that figures mentioned in the media -- such as 20,000 or 30,000 -- do not seem unrealistic," Amiry-Moghaddam said.
He added that even in IHR's current verification process, roughly half of the confirmed victims do not appear on the government's official list.
Meanwhile, HRANA, whose figures RFE/RL has regularly cited since the violent crackdown began, says its confirmed death toll -- including members of the security forces -- has reached 6,842. An additional 11,280 deaths remain under investigation, while more than 49,000 people have been arrested.
With reporting by Hooman Askary of RFE/RL's Radio Farda
A Boxer, A Truck Driver, And A Hip-Hop Artist: The Protesters Killed In Iran
Dozens of protesters have been killed in a brutal government crackdown on ongoing nationwide demonstrations against Iran's clerical establishment.
RFE/RL's Radio Farda has verified the deaths of 25 protesters as of January 9, including five minors, although the actual death toll is believed to be higher.
The demonstrations erupted in the bazaars of the capital, Tehran, on December 28. But since then, they have spread to scores of cities and towns across the country of some 92 million people.
More than half of the deaths verified by RFE/RL occurred in the western provinces of Lorestan, Ilam, and Kermanshah. The three impoverished provinces are home to ethnic minorities and have been hit hard by Iran's worsening economic crisis, a catalyst for the demonstrations.
The vast majority of the protesters who have been killed were young men and most died of gunshot wounds. Iranian security forces have used heavy-handed tactics, including directly firing on crowds.
A Law Intern
At least seven protesters have been killed in Lorestan, home to the Lor ethnic group. Five were killed in the small town of Azna alone.
Among them was Ahmad Reza Amani, a 28-year-old intern at the local bar association. He was shot dead by security forces during a protest on January 1.
Mustafa Fallahi, 15, was also killed during the demonstration in Azna. A second teenager, 16-year-old Taha Safari, was shot and later died of his wounds.
Amir Hossam Khodayarifard was killed by security forces during a protest in the town of Kohdasht in Lorestan on January 1. The local branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said Khodayarifard was a member of the Basij paramilitary force, a claim rejected by his family.
Ahad Ebrahimi was another protester who was killed in Lorestan. He was shot dead during a protest in the town of Noorabad on January 1.
A Bodybuilder And A Boxer
Scores of protesters descended on a two-story building used by the IRGC in the town of Malekshahi in Ilam Province on January 3. As demonstrators chanted antiestablishment slogans and threw stones at the building, IRGC members climbed on the roof and opened fire on the crowd.
Five people were killed in one of the deadliest single incidents since ongoing protests erupted.
Fares Aghamohammadi, Mehdi Emamipur, and Latif Karimi were among those shot dead. Karimi was a retired member of the IRGC who was shot after calling on security forces not to shoot at protesters, according to his son. His family members told Radio Farda that he was among the protesters.
Reza Azimzadeh, a 27-year-old bodybuilder, was another protester who was killed on January 3 in Malekshahi. Another athlete -- boxer Mohammad Reza Karami -- was wounded during the protest and later died in a hospital.
A Truck Driver
Three protesters were killed in Kermanshah Province on January 3. Among them were brothers Rasul and Reza Kadivorian, both construction workers.
The elder, 20-year-old Reza, was shot dead during the protest. His brother, Rasul, 17, was shot and wounded. He later died in a hospital.
In the county of Haris in Kermanshah, a 42-year-old truck driver was killed during a protest on January 2. The authorities claimed Ali Azizi was a member of the IRGC, a claim rejected by his family.
A Futsal Coach
In the southern province of Fars, Khodadad Shirvani-Manfard was shot in the head at close range during protests on January 1 in the city of Marvdasht.
Relatives of the 33-year-old told Radio Farda that he was killed near a police station. Videos released on social media showed protesters carrying his body.
Two others -- including Amir Mohammad Kohkan, a 26-year-old futsal coach, and Mansur Mokhtari -- were also shot dead by security forces in Marvdasht. Relatives of Kohkan told Radio Farda that he died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
A Hip-Hop Artist
At least four people have been killed in the southwestern province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari. They include Sajjad Valamanesh Zeilaei, 20, and Ahmad Jalil, 21, who were both killed during a rally in the town of Lordegan on January 1.
Soroush Soleimani, a 28-year-old who was said to be a hip-hop artist, was shot dead on January 4 during protests in Hafeshjan. Videos showed protesters setting a building on fire in the town.
A Shop Owner
The holy Shi'ite city of Qom has witnessed several protests that have turned deadly.
Hossein Rabiei died after suffering gunshot wounds to his chest. A local official in Qom said the 34-year-old, a shop owner, died after a hand grenade that he was carrying detonated. That claim has been rejected by his family.
Mohammad Nuri died in Qom on January 2. His relatives said he was shot in the chest.
In the central province of Isfahan, Dariush Ansari Bakhtiarvand was killed during a protest in the town of Foladshahr on January 1. Images of his lifeless body in a hospital have been widely shared on social media.
Police have claimed that the 37-year-old was killed after a fight with unknown assailants, but his relatives said he was pursued and killed by security officers after attending the protest in Foladshahr.
Iranian Actress Taraneh Alidoosti Praised For Defiance After New Documentary
A new documentary about the acclaimed Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti, detailing her outspoken support for the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests, has ignited a powerful reaction across Persian-language social media.
Directed by Pegah Ahangarani and broadcast on December 24 by BBC Persian, Taraneh: A Documentary offers an intimate portrait of the prominent actress, who reflects on Iran’s mandatory head scarf law, feminism, artistic responsibility, and the personal consequences of political dissent.
Alidoosti also discusses her arrest, imprisonment, and struggle with an autoimmune disease that sidelined her from public life for nearly a year.
Alidoosti was detained in December 2022 after months of vocal solidarity with protesters following the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody and her condemnation of the executions of demonstrators, including Mohsen Shekari. Her detention drew widespread international condemnation, and she was released on bail two and a half weeks later.
Since her release, the Salesman star has refrained from participating in Iranian cinema. In the new documentary, she appears on camera without the compulsory headscarf for the first time, declaring firmly that she will “under no circumstances” act while wearing a headscarf again.
Her comments on artists’ social responsibility and criticism of a film industry “lagging behind society” have resonated widely online. Many users on X hailed her as a symbol of courage and agency for Iranian women, emphasizing her persistence despite professional exile and health challenges.
Social media users praised her openness, posture, and confidence on screen, seeing in Alidoosti a reflection of the “self-determined Iranian woman.”
One widely shared post on X stated that “Taraneh Alidoosti proved that choosing courage comes at a cost,” while others hoped such bravery would “one day become a habit, not an exception.”
In one striking scene, the documentary shows Alidoosti swimming in a Tehran pool wearing a swimsuit -- a rare and highly symbolic act of defiance in the Islamic republic. The moment recalls her unreleased film Orca, about a female swimmer striving to break a Guinness world record, which was denied screening permission by Iranian authorities.
Reflecting on that banned film, Alidoosti says, “Back then, I had to act as a swimmer who swam in clothes. But that’s not acceptable anymore. People will laugh.”
Prominent film journalist Mina Akbari described the documentary as a “historic act of saying no.” Others credited Alidoosti’s words for keeping the memory of the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement alive amid Iran’s ongoing political and economic crises, calling her voice “wounded but unyielding.”
Following the Iranian Culture Ministry’s confirmation that she and several other actresses had been banned from working, Alidoosti wrote on Instagram: “If I’m no longer acting in your films, don’t think even for a second that it’s your doing. I will not wear the cloth that killed my sisters for your movies.”
Female Nobel Laureates, UN Experts Urge Iran To Stop Execution Of Activist Tabari
A large group of influential women from around the world as well as UN experts have issued separate statements urging Iran to immediately release Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, a 67-year-old electrical engineer facing imminent execution.
Tabari was sentenced to death on October 25, by the Revolutionary Court of Rasht for baghi -- armed rebellion against the foundations of the Islamic republic.
The conviction was based on a piece of cloth bearing the slogan "Women, Resistance, Freedom," which appeared to be a play on the “Women, Life, Freedom” motto popularized during Iran's 2022 protests. Authorities alleged she planned to display the cloth as a public banner.
'World's Number One Executioner Of Women'
In an appeal brought by a UK-based organization, more than 400 prominent women, including four Nobel Prize laureates and several former presidents and prime ministers, on December 23, described Iran as “the world's number one executioner of women per capita.”
“Zahra's case lays bare this terror: in Iran, daring to hold a sign declaring women's resistance to oppression is now punishable by death,” their letter said.
The organization, Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran, represents the families of thousands of political prisoners executed in Iran more than 30 years ago.
Tabari, who studied sustainable energy in Sweden, was first arrested approximately four years ago after sharing a social media post. She was released after three months with an electronic monitoring device. In April 2025, security forces raided her home in Gilan province and arrested her again.
Her son, Soroush Samak, who lives in Sweden, told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda earlier this year that Tabari’s trial lasted only 10 minutes -- a point also highlighted in a statement by eight UN experts that was published on December 23, in which they said the trial was conducted via videoconference and she was denied access to her chosen lawyer.
They demanded Iran halt the execution, calling the case a "mockery of justice." They pointed to serious procedural violations, including unlawful detention, denial of effective legal representation, and the use of insufficient evidence to support charges of armed rebellion.
"Criminalizing women's activism for gender equality and treating such expression as evidence of armed rebellion constitutes a grave form of gender discrimination," the UN experts stated.
Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said Iran had carried out at least 1,426 executions by the end of November this year, including 41 women.