A newly released United Nations report by Special Rapporteur Mai Sato has brought international attention to the severe human rights violations in Iran, particularly in the context of the 2025 nationwide protests. The comprehensive document highlights how broadly defined security offenses are being weaponized by the state to silence political dissent. Notably, the report exposes the alarming cases of three female activists currently facing the death penalty, including one whose capital charge is based on nothing more than possessing a piece of cloth featuring a popular protest slogan.
Mai Sato: Pattern of Due Process Violations in Iran ‘Repeating on a Broader Scale’
The advance unedited version of the report, dated March 9, 2026, was prepared for the sixty-first session of the UN Human Rights Council. Titled “Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2025 and the nationwide protests,” the document rigorously examines the regime’s suppression of the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association during the nationwide unrest that began in late December 2025.
A critical section of the Special Rapporteur’s findings details the application of capital punishment under the guise of security-related offenses. The report states that beyond espionage, authorities continue to use other broadly defined security offenses to effectively silence dissent. Specifically, the document names three women who are currently on death row facing the severe charge of baghy, which the state defines as armed rebellion against the foundations of the Islamic Republic.
The three women facing imminent execution under this charge are identified as Kurdish humanitarian worker Pakhshan Azizi, Kurdish activist Varisheh Moradi, and Zahra Shahbaz Tabari.
The arbitrary and disproportionate nature of these capital charges is starkly illustrated in the specific case of political prisoner Zahra Shahbaz Tabari. Highlighting the lack of due process and the criminalization of basic expression, the report outlines the astonishingly trivial basis for her death sentence. According to the Special Rapporteur’s findings, the evidence against her consisted of a piece of cloth bearing the slogan “Woman, Resistance, Freedom”, a popular slogan from the 2022 protests.
