United Nations experts on Dec. 23 urged [6] Iran to immediately stop the execution of Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, a 67-year-old electrical engineer detained at Lakan Prison in Rasht. In their statement, the experts detailed severe procedural violations, including arrest without a warrant, prolonged solitary confinement, a trial lasting less than ten minutes via video conference, and denial of access to a chosen lawyer. The experts stated:
The severe procedural violations in this case—including the unlawful deprivation of her liberty, the denial of effective legal representation, the extraordinarily brief trial, the lack of adequate time to prepare a defence, and the use of evidence that appears insufficient to support a charge of baghi—render any resulting conviction unsafe.
The experts asserted that executing Tabari would violate the prohibition on arbitrary deprivation of life. They further emphasized that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [7] (ICCPR), which Iran ratified in 1975, restricts the death penalty to the "most serious crimes," involving intentional killing. Experts said that Tabari’s case—involving the possession of a banner with a protest slogan and an unpublished audio message—did not meet this threshold. The banner bore the words "Woman, Resistance, Freedom" —a popular slogan from the 2022 protests [8] in Iran.
A group of UN Special Rapporteurs issued this statement, warning that Tabari's death sentence for the charge of baghi (armed rebellion), handed down on Oct. 25, was the result of a grossly unfair trial. Therefore, if carried out, the sentence would constitute an arbitrary execution. Iran also employs broadly defined charges such as moharebeh [11] (waging war against God) against political activists, often based on scant evidence and through trials that lack fundamental due process.
The experts cited 51 other individuals facing the death penalty on similar charges as emblematic of Iran's systematic use of capital punishment for vague national security offenses targeting dissent. The current surge in executions [12] comes amid a general crackdown on civil society [13].
While UN experts are in direct contact with Iranian authorities, their appeals carry no legal force. Whether Iran will heed this call, the outcome of any judicial review, and the fate of the other 51 individuals facing death on similar charges all remain uncertain.
From JURIST [14], Dec. 24. Used with permission. Internal links added.
