Iran is expected to carry out the first execution of a female protester linked to the January 2026 unrest in Tehran, according to multiple human rights groups. Bita Hemmati was named in a collective death sentence alongside three others, including her husband, Mohammadreza Majid-Asl, 34, the National Council of Resistance of Iran and the Human Rights Activists News Agency reported.
The groups said the couple’s neighbors, Kourosh and Behrouz Zamaninejad, also received death sentences, while a relative, Amir Hemmati, was sentenced to five years in prison. No specific date for the execution has been announced. The verdicts come amid Iran’s ongoing crackdown on protests, which have reportedly resulted in thousands of deaths since demonstrations began earlier this year.
According to HRANA, a source identified the defendants as residents of Tehran, with the Zamaninejad brothers being arrested simultaneously. The Tehran Revolutionary Court accused them of multiple offenses, including disrupting national security and collaborating with the United States. Authorities alleged that the defendants used explosives, weapons, and thrown incendiary objects during protests on Jan. 8 and 9, injuring security personnel and engaging in propaganda against the regime.
Along with death sentences, the court imposed five-year prison terms and ordered the seizure of assets for the accused. Amir Hemmati was specifically convicted of gathering and colluding against national security and propaganda. Human rights groups expressed concern that confessions may have been coerced through torture and interrogation, and they criticized the lack of evidence linking the defendants directly to the alleged crimes.
Protests erupted in late December 2025 amid Iran’s economic crisis, including collapsing currency and soaring inflation. The unrest quickly spread across multiple cities. The United States joined the conflict with Operation Epic Fury in late February 2026, conducting joint airstrikes with Israel that reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
