WOMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER AT RISK OF EXECUTION

Human rights defender, Sharifeh Mohammadi, is at risk of execution after a Revolutionary Court in Rasht, Gilan province, sentenced her to death in June 2024 solely in relation to her peaceful human rights activities. She supported women’s and workers’ rights as well as the abolition of the death penalty, and until 2011 was a member in a workers’ committee in Iran, where independent trade unions are banned. Her trial was grossly unfair, and her allegations of torture and other ill-treatment were never investigated.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: December 9, 2024

tAKE aCTION:

• Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
• Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 80.24. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear Mr. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, or Supreme Leader ‘Ali Khamenei,

Human rights defender, Sharifeh Mohammadi, 45, is at risk of execution in Lakan prison, Gilan province, after Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Rasht, Gilan province, sentenced her to death in June 2024. She was convicted of “armed rebellion against the state” (baghi) solely in relation to her peaceful human rights activities, including supporting women’s and workers’ rights as well as the abolition of the death penalty, and her past membership with the Coordinating Committee to Help to Form Workers’ Organizations, which advocates for trade unions. Her appeal is pending before the Supreme Court. 

Sharifeh Mohammadi’s trial, which consisted of one 30-minute session on June 9, 2024, was grossly unfair. She was connected from prison via video conference and was denied the right to speak. The verdict lists her peaceful human rights activities as “evidence” against her, including possession of documents supporting women prisoners, her abolitionist position, and ties to the Coordinating Committee to Help to Form Workers’ Organizations.

I call on you to halt any plans to execute Sharifeh Mohammadi, quash her conviction and death sentence, and release her immediately and unconditionally, as she is held solely for her peaceful human rights activism. Pending her release, provide her with adequate healthcare and regular visits from family and lawyers; protect her from further torture and other ill-treatment; and order an independent, effective and impartial investigation into her torture allegations, bringing anyone suspected of criminal responsibility to justice in fair trials. Also, immediately establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty. 

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

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