Taraneh Rahimi faces death sentence over Iran protests

Taraneh Rahimi, a 21-year-old Iranian woman arrested after protests in Isfahan, has been sentenced to death, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists group.

The group, known as HRANA, said Taraneh was sentenced in August on charges of “waging war against God”. It said her twin sister, Romina Rahimi, was sentenced to 36 years in prison in the same case.

Relatives based outside Iran said the sisters joined protests against the Iranian authorities in Isfahan on January 8 and 9, were arrested a week later and later appeared in a court set up inside an Isfahan prison with 14 other people.

They were accused of involvement in the deaths of a member of the Revolutionary Guards and a homeless person during the protests. The verdict is still subject to appeal.

Their cousin Masoud Nourmohammadi, who is based in the United States, accused the authorities of torturing the sisters and pressuring Taraneh to sign a forced confession. He also said Taraneh had knee pain and other medical conditions and had not been allowed to be hospitalised outside prison after a doctor said she needed it.

The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said there were growing concerns about Taraneh’s physical condition and said she had lost a significant part of her ability to walk.

Iran has executed 29 people, all men so far, in connection with the protests, after trials that rights groups including Amnesty International have described as grossly unfair and based on confessions obtained through torture. The Iranian judiciary says it is acting against those behind “riots”.

HRANA said eight women across Iran face capital punishment on security or protest-related charges. Norway-based Iran Human Rights said it had identified 100 people sentenced to death over the protests, including 31 in Isfahan province.