Workers Rights Activist Sharifeh Mohammadi Resentenced to Death at Retrial
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); February 13, 2024: Sharifeh Mohammadi, a workers rights activist detained in Rasht Central Prison, has been resentenced to death on charges of baghy (armed rebellion) through "membership of Komala Party" by Branch 2 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court.
Iran Human Rights condemns Sharifeh Mohammadi’s death sentence and considers it a part of the Islamic Republic’s campaign of intimidation following the nationwide “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests. Citing a sharp rise in executions, particularly of women, the organisation urges the international community—especially global labour unions—to take decisive action to stop executions and demand the immediate revocation of Sharifeh Mohammadi’s sentence.
IHRNGO Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “Sentencing someone to death for membership in a labor organisation reveals the government’s deep fear of collective organising. Sharifeh Mohammadi’s unlawful sentence, issued at the request of repressive organs to suppress civil society, must be met with the strongest international condemnation. Only by increasing the political cost can we prevent such atrocities.”
Quoting her lawyers Mohammadreza Nazarinejad and Mohammadreza Sarvari, the Campaign to Free Sharifeh Mohammadi reported that she was resentenced to death by Branch 2 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Mohammad Ali Darvish Goftar on 13 February 2025. Her original death sentence by Branch 1 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court was overturned by Branch 39 of the Supreme Court on 12 October 2024 and her case referred to a court of equal standing. Sharifeh was retried by Branch 2 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court on 14 November 2024.
Her membership in the Coordination Committee for Assisting in the Formation of Labor Unions has been cited as a basis for the charge of baghy against Sharifeh Mohammadi. The Islamic Republic considers the committee to be affiliated with Komala Party which Sharifeh has repeatedly denied.
According to the report, Judge Mohammad Ali Darvish Goftar is the son of Judge Ahmad Darvish Goftar, the presiding judge at Branch 1 who originally issued her death sentence.
Sharifeh Mohammadi is a 45-year-old workers’ rights activist from Mianeh in Eastern Azerbaijan who resided in Rasht. She was arrested on 5 December 2023 and held in solitary confinement and denied access to phone calls and visits. According to reports, she was subjected to severe psychological and physical torture to extract forced confessions.
Her relatives have said: “Sharifeh never took armed action and was sentenced to death solely for her peaceful activism in workers’ rights organisations. She was under physical and psychological torture throughout her detention.
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