A 23-year-old Iranian woman has been sentenced to death for blasphemy over a social media post, according to human rights groups. Najmeh Amini, an Iranian accounting student, was first arrested in January amid nationwide anti-government protests triggered by economic grievances. Over 50,000 people were detained as the government launched a deadly crackdown, and Amini was among them. She was arrested again on February 3, 2026, in Mashhad after Iran’s cyber police, FATA, flagged her online activity, according to rights groups. She was charged with making “highly vulgar and offensive insults against the Infallible Imams.”
The exact content of the social media post has not been made public. However, her death sentence, issued on September 16, is not final and can be appealed before Iran’s Supreme Court.
According to a report by Guardian, she was convicted of sab ol-nabi, or insulting the Prophet Muhammad, a charge punishable by death under Iranian law. In a separate case, she was sentenced to 12 years, six months and one day in prison on charges including acting against national security and spreading propaganda against the government.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that Amini was transferred to Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, where she was subjected to severe physical beatings during her arrest and held in solitary confinement for nearly three months.
According to Iranian newspaper Khorasan, Amini told the court that she had made the remarks while hallucinating after consuming psychedelic mushrooms with friends. Her defence argued that the remarks were unintentional, but the court rejected the argument. The judge reportedly asked her, “Why, in that same hallucinatory state, did you not insult other individuals or opponents of the regime, such as America and Israel?”
In an audio message released from prison, Amini appealed to human rights organisations and international bodies to review her case.
“I do not want to make a hero out of myself today. I only want one thing: to be my voice. I am an innocent young girl with so many hopes and dreams. I have parents who are waiting for me. A family that every night, with the fear of losing me, turns their night into morning. Remember my name; I may not be able to speak again. But as long as I am alive, I hold one hope: that before the rope marks the end of my life, I see my prosperous and free Iran,” she said.
Najmeh Amini, a 23-year-old girl in Mashhad, has been sentenced to death by the Islamic Republic on the anniversary of the state killing of Mahsa Amini. In a message from prison, she says: “I am an innocent young girl with so many hopes and dreams. Be my voice!” Let us hear Najmeh Amini’s voice and not allow it to be silenced behind prison walls. #LastBreath
— Reza Pahlavi Communications (@PahlaviComms) September 20, 2026
Rights Groups Raise Alarm Over Death Sentence
Human rights organisations have condemned Amini’s sentence, warning that the use of capital punishment in cases involving online expression could further restrict freedom of speech in Iran.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO), said, “Sentencing a 23-year-old woman to death for what she expressed on social media is an extremely alarming development. Although blasphemy carries the death penalty under Iranian law and two men were executed on such charges in 2023, this case risks expanding the use of the death penalty against peaceful online expression. The fact that the sentence has been imposed on a young woman adds another serious dimension. Without a strong international response now, we risk seeing a broader use and implementation of death sentences for expression. The international community must demand that Najmeh Amini’s sentence be overturned and call for an immediate moratorium on all executions.”
According to IHRNGO, at least 604 executions were recorded in Iran between January and September 2026. The organisation has warned that executions are increasingly being used to intimidate the public and suppress dissent.
