Iran Set to Execute First Female Protester as Crackdown on 2026 Uprising Deepens

By Micheal Chukwuebuka

Iran is preparing to execute its first female protester linked to the January 2026 uprising in Tehran, according to multiple human rights groups.

Bita Hemmati was sentenced to death alongside three others, including her husband, Mohammadreza Majid-Asl, 34.

The reported neighbours, Behrouz Zamaninejad and Kourosh Zamaninejad, also received death sentences, while a relative, Amir Hemmati, was handed five years in prison.

The rulings, issued by the Tehran Revolutionary Court, are among the latest in a sweeping crackdown on anti-government protests that erupted earlier this year. Thousands of demonstrators are reportedly feared dead since the unrest began.

According to human rights sources, “Mohammadreza Majidi-Asl and Bita Hemmati are a couple living in Tehran, and Amir Hemmati is a relative of the two.

Kourosh Zamaninejad and Behrouz Zamaninejad were living in the same residential building, and their arrests took place simultaneously.” No execution date has been announced.

Authorities accused the defendants of disrupting national security and collaborating with what they described as a “hostile government,” referencing the United States.

Prosecutors alleged that on January 8 and 9, the group used explosives and weapons, threw concrete blocks and incendiary materials from rooftops, injured security personnel, and spread anti-government propaganda.

Alongside the death sentences, the court ordered the seizure of personal assets and handed Amir Hemmati a five-year prison term for “assembly and collusion against national security.”

Human rights groups have raised alarm over the verdicts, alleging the defendants were subjected to torture and coerced confessions.

Activists also argued that authorities failed to provide clear evidence linking them to the alleged crimes and warned the sentences could be intended to intimidate citizens and discourage further protests.

Mass demonstrations first erupted in late December 2025 in Tehran, driven by economic hardship, currency collapse, and soaring inflation, before spreading to other cities nationwide.