Najmeh Amini sentenced to death in Iran over social media post

A court in Iran has sentenced Najmeh Amini, a 23-year-old accounting student, to death for blasphemy over an online post, rights groups say.

According to the group Iran Human Rights, authorities hold Amini in Mashhad Central Prison, also called Vakilabad. A court found her guilty of insulting the Prophet in her post.

She also got a separate jail term of more than 12 years on national security and propaganda charges. One report said she spent about eight months in custody before the verdict.

However, the death sentence is not final yet. Najmeh Amini can still challenge it at Iran’s Supreme Court.

Inside the trial of Najmeh Amini

A local newspaper confirmed the case on October 7, naming her only by her initials. It did not say when the court issued its verdict. It said police detained her in Mashhad in February, after cyber police tracked her online posts.

Branch 6 of the Khorasan Razavi Criminal Court heard the case, with Judge Javad Asian-Yazd presiding. There, her lawyer argued that the words amounted to a slip of the tongue.

Amini herself gave a different account. She told the judge that she and some friends had taken hallucinogenic mushrooms, and that she wrote the post while under their influence.

The judge rejected both arguments. According to the newspaper, he asked why she had not insulted anyone else in that state, and how she knew where to post.

Iran’s penal code sets death as the punishment for insulting the Prophet under Article 262. Article 263, however, allows exceptions for remarks made in error, in anger or while intoxicated. In such cases, the law sets a lighter punishment of up to 74 lashes.

Rights groups raise the alarm

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, who directs Iran Human Rights, called the case “an extremely alarming development.”

He noted that Iran executed two men for blasphemy in 2023. Still, he warned that this ruling “risks expanding” capital punishment to peaceful speech online.

In his view, the fact that the defendant is a young woman made the case even more serious. He called on world leaders to press Iran to overturn it.

A plea from a prison cell

In a voice message from prison, dated September 18, Amini begged people outside to speak up for her. She described herself as an innocent girl with many hopes and dreams.

She also asked lawyers, activists and United Nations bodies to examine her case. In addition, she urged listeners to remember her name, fearing she might not get another chance to speak.

Some reports say police arrested her on January 31, during mass protests against the government. Rights groups say security forces killed thousands of protesters and detained many more during that crackdown.

Meanwhile, executions in Iran have risen sharply this year, according to rights groups. Lawmakers are also trying to outlaw contact with foreign media, including some social media posts.

For now, the life of Najmeh Amini depends on the Supreme Court, as campaigners abroad call for her release.