More than 400 prominent women from across the world have issued an urgent appeal calling on Iran to immediately release engineer and women’s rights activist Zahra Tabari, amid fears that she could face imminent execution.
The signatories include four Nobel Peace Prize laureates, former presidents and prime ministers, lawmakers, judges, and diplomats. Their joint statement warns that Tabari, a 67-year-old mother, was sentenced to death in October after what they described as a deeply flawed judicial process. According to the appeal, her trial lasted just 10 minutes, was conducted remotely by videoconference, and denied her access to a lawyer of her choosing.
The letter was coordinated by Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran, a London-based association representing families of those killed during Iran’s mass executions of political prisoners. It states that Tabari’s conviction stems solely from her peaceful act of holding a banner reading “Woman, Resistance, Freedom,” a phrase echoing the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom” that became a rallying cry during the 2022 nationwide protests.
Those protests erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died while in custody of Iran’s morality police, sparking unprecedented demonstrations led largely by women. While Iranian state media have not acknowledged Tabari’s case or confirmed a death sentence, international concern continues to mount.
Adding to the pressure, eight independent United Nations human rights experts issued a separate statement urging Iranian authorities to halt any execution. The experts, who report to the UN Human Rights Council, said Tabari had been convicted of “baghi,” or armed rebellion, based only on the banner and an unpublished audio recording. They stressed that such charges fail to meet the threshold of “most serious crimes” required under international law for capital punishment.
“These proceedings reveal a disturbing pattern of fair trial violations and the misuse of the death penalty for vague national security offenses,” the experts said, warning that executing Tabari would amount to an arbitrary deprivation of life.
The joint appeal was also signed by former leaders of Switzerland, Ecuador, Finland, Peru, Poland, and Ukraine, who said the case highlights the longstanding climate of fear faced by women in Iran. The letter described the country as the world’s leading executioner of women on a per-capita basis.
Data from Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based watchdog, indicate that more than 40 women have been executed in Iran this year alone. The appeal further noted that Tabari has been accused of ties to the opposition group, which is banned in Iran. The group claims at least 18 of its alleged supporters are currently on death row.
Among the signatories is US Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who joined others in condemning what they called the criminalization of peaceful dissent. “In Iran, holding a sign expressing women’s resistance to oppression is now treated as a capital crime,” the letter said.
The appeal concludes with a call for governments worldwide to act decisively. “We demand Zahra Tabari’s immediate release,” it states, “and we urge the international community to stand with Iranian women in their pursuit of democracy, equality, and freedom.”
