“Be My Voice”

An Urgent Campaign to Protect Four Women Facing the Death Penalty in Iran

From inside Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, 23-year-old student Najmeh Amini sent a simple request to the outside world:

“Be my voice.”

Today, Welle is answering that call.

We are launching an international legal and public-awareness campaign for four women whose lives have become tied to death-penalty proceedings in Iran:

Arghavan Fallahi, Taraneh Rahimi, Najmeh Amini and Mahboubeh Shabani.

Their circumstances are different. Their cases are at different stages. But each case requires urgent legal attention, independent scrutiny and sustained international visibility.

One of these cases has already shown why continuing to act matters.

On September 24, 2026, Iran’s Supreme Court overturned the death sentence against Arghavan Fallahi and accepted legal objections to her case. The execution of the sentence was suspended and the case was referred for reconsideration by another court.

It is an important development.

But Arghavan’s case is not finished—and three other young women remain under death sentences.

Arghavan Fallahi — A Death Sentence Overturned, but a Case Not Yet Over

Arghavan Fallahi is a 24-year-old political prisoner held in Evin Prison.

In July 2026, Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced her to death on the charge of baghi, or armed rebellion. In August, the Supreme Court upheld that sentence.

Her legal efforts continued.

On September 24, the Supreme Court accepted objections raised in her case, overturned the death sentence and suspended its execution. Her case is now to be reconsidered by another court of equal standing.

For Welle and those campaigning internationally around her case, this development reinforces something essential:

A death sentence must never be treated as the end of the road.

Legal advocacy, documentation, international attention and constant monitoring can help create opportunities for cases to be reconsidered.

Arghavan is no longer facing an immediately enforceable death sentence, but her future still depends on the outcome of the new proceedings.

We must continue watching her case until the danger has passed.

Taraneh Rahimi — 20 Years Old, a Horse-Riding Instructor, Sentenced to Death

Taraneh Rahimi is only 20 years old.

She is a horse-riding instructor from Isfahan and was arrested together with her twin sister, Romina Rahimi, in connection with the January 2026 protests.

The sisters are among the defendants in what has become known as the “Shohada Square” case in Isfahan.

Branch One of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court sentenced Taraneh to death. Her twin sister Romina was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The charges in the case include moharebeh, or “waging war against God,” as well as other security-related accusations.

Their relatives strongly dispute the accusations.

In an interview with Radio Farda, their cousin Masoud Nourmohammadi said the sisters had been subjected to severe physical and psychological abuse in detention and that confessions had been obtained under coercion. These are allegations made by the family and have not been independently established by Radio Farda.

According to their relative, Taraneh had undergone surgery on her leg before her arrest and had metal plates and screws in place. He said her physical condition deteriorated significantly in detention and that she later told her family she could barely walk.

He also alleged that the sisters’ mother initially struggled to recognize them when she finally saw them after months of detention because of changes in their physical condition.

The family further says defense lawyers had extremely limited access to the case file before sentencing and disputes that there is evidence supporting the most serious accusations against the sisters.

Taraneh should have been spending her days working with horses and building her future.

Instead, at 20, she faces a death sentence.

Her case urgently requires meaningful legal review and international scrutiny.

Najmeh Amini — “Be My Voice”

Najmeh Amini is 23 years old and an accounting student from Mashhad.

She was arrested on January 31, 2026, at Ferdowsi Shopping Center in Mashhad during the January protests and transferred to Vakilabad Prison.

In September, a message from Najmeh herself reached the outside world.

In an audio recording from Vakilabad Prison, she said that she had been sentenced to death on September 16.

She appealed directly to lawyers, the United Nations, human-rights organizations and people outside Iran to examine her case and help secure her right to a fair trial.

Her request can be summarized in three words:

“Be my voice.”

HRANA reported the audio message while noting at the time that it could not independently verify her account. It confirmed that Najmeh had appeared before the Mashhad Revolutionary Court and that she faced charges including “assembly and collusion against national security” and “insulting sacred beliefs and the Imams.”

For us, Najmeh’s message is more than a quotation.

It is the heart of this campaign.

A prisoner facing the possibility of execution has asked the outside world not to remain silent.

We intend to keep her name, her case and her request visible.

Mahboubeh Shabani — Sentenced to Death After Reportedly Helping Injured Protesters

Mahboubeh Shabani is 33 years old.

She was arrested in Mashhad on February 2, 2026.

Human-rights organizations report that during the January protests she helped injured demonstrators reach medical facilities, including transporting injured people on her motorcycle.

Months later, Branch One of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court sentenced her to death.

Her lawyer was formally notified of the sentence on September 26. The court cited security-related accusations, including what authorities described as “operational action” benefiting foreign states and opposition-linked individuals.

Iran Human Rights reported that Mahboubeh was transferred to solitary confinement in Vakilabad Prison on September 28, only two days after notification of the death sentence.

Sources cited by human-rights organizations say the conduct underlying the accusations included helping injured protesters and transporting them to hospitals and medical centers.

Her case now demands immediate legal attention.

Four Women. Four Cases. One Urgent Responsibility.

Arghavan.

Taraneh.

Najmeh.

Mahboubeh.

It is easy for names to disappear into headlines.

We cannot allow that to happen.

Behind each case is a young woman, a family, lawyers trying to navigate the judicial process and a narrow window in which legal and international action may matter.

Arghavan’s case demonstrates why these efforts must continue.

Her death sentence was first imposed, then upheld.

Her lawyers continued challenging it.

Now the Supreme Court has overturned that sentence and ordered reconsideration.

That does not mean every case will follow the same path.

But it does mean that we must continue pursuing every available legal avenue.

The Welle Emergency Campaign

Welle is seeking Donation to fund an urgent international judicial and public-awareness campaign.

Our work has two closely connected pillars.

1. Judicial and Legal Advocacy

Funding will help support:

• legal consultation and case analysis;
• communication with lawyers, families and relevant human-rights organizations where possible;
• preparation and translation of case documentation;
• review of court decisions and available appeal or retrial mechanisms;
• preparation of documentation for international human-rights mechanisms;
• rapid response when new judicial decisions are announced;
• monitoring cases during periods when the risk of execution may increase.

Legal proceedings can change quickly.

We therefore need the capacity not only to react after a decision has been made, but to watch the cases continuously and respond when intervention is most important.

2. International Public Awareness

Public visibility can help prevent cases from disappearing from international attention.

Funding will support:

• multilingual campaign materials;
• translation of messages from prisoners and families;
• international media outreach;
• communication with civil-society and human-rights organizations;
• verified case updates;
• social-media awareness campaigns;
• documentation for journalists and international institutions;
• urgent alerts following transfers, court decisions or changes in prisoners’ circumstances.

Why We Ask You to Keep Watching

These cases cannot receive attention for one day and then disappear.

They need sustained monitoring.

Watch the court proceedings.
Watch changes in detention.
Watch transfers to solitary confinement.
Watch appeal deadlines.
Watch for new sentences.
Watch until every available legal avenue has been pursued.

Arghavan’s case showed how rapidly the situation can change.

Najmeh has asked us directly to be her voice.

Taraneh is 20 years old and facing a death sentence while her family is raising serious allegations about how evidence and confessions were obtained.

Mahboubeh is facing execution after human-rights groups reported that she helped transport injured protesters to medical care.

Their lives require more than a headline.

They require sustained attention.

Please Be Their Voice

Najmeh reached us from behind prison walls with one request:

“Be my voice.”