The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran described the case of Sharifeh Mohammadi, an imprisoned labor activist, as a clear example of the urgent need to abolish the death penalty.
Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, referring to the Iranian Supreme Court’s approval of Mohammadi’s death sentence, wrote that this case is a clear example of the urgent necessity to abolish capital punishment.
On Monday, August 18, Mai Sato wrote on the social media platform X that although Branch 39 of the Supreme Court had previously overturned Mohammadi’s death sentence due to serious legal and procedural flaws, this time it upheld the ruling.
روز شانزدهم اوت ۲۰۲۵ دیوان عالی کشور ایران (شعبهی ۳۹) حکم اعدام شریفه محمدی فعال کارگری، از اقلیت اتنیکی آذربایجانی، را تایید کرد؛ با وجود اینکه همین شعبهی دیوان عالی پیشتر، در اکتبر ۲۰۲۴، با استناد به نواقص جدی حقوقی و مربوط به آییندادرسی این حکم را نقض کرده بود.
محکومیت او…
— Mai Sato (@drmaisato.bsky.social) (@drmaisato) August 18, 2025
The UN Special Rapporteur pointed out that Mohammadi’s conviction was based on the charge of “baghi” (armed rebellion) and alleged links to an “armed group.” He wrote: “Officials claim that the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations, which Mohammadi was once a member of, is linked to the Komala Party, which the Iranian government considers armed and rebellious.”
Sato continued, citing reports that Mohammadi was subjected to violations of fair trial guarantees, including torture, denial of access to a lawyer of her choice during interrogations, and five months of solitary confinement.
On August 16, Amir Raeesian, Mohammadi’s lawyer, told the state-run daily Shargh that her death sentence had been finalized, saying: “Although none of the issues previously cited by Branch 39 of the Supreme Court for overturning [Mohammadi’s] ruling have been resolved, this time the court upheld the death sentence.”
He added: “The ruling of Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht merely repeats the earlier ruling of Branch 1, without addressing the Supreme Court’s objections and based solely on the security forces’ claims. Therefore, it was expected that the Supreme Court would overturn the ruling again, but contrary to expectations, it did not.”
In another part of her note on X, Sato emphasized that international human rights law does not allow the death penalty for national security crimes, including “baghi.” She wrote that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights restricts the death penalty to “the most serious crimes,” meaning the intentional taking of life.
She stated that the irreversible nature of capital punishment requires the highest legal standards, adding: “When Iran’s own Supreme Court previously identified serious flaws in a death penalty case, its decision to uphold the same flawed conviction raises grave concerns about the risk of an unfair execution.”
The UN Special Rapporteur concluded that this case is a clear example of the urgent need to abolish the death penalty.
Currently, around 70 prisoners across Iran, including Sharifeh Mohammadi, Verisheh Moradi, and Pakhshan Azizi, face political charges and are at risk of having their death sentences upheld or carried out.
