An Iranian woman sentenced to death over protests earlier this year has begged the international community to save her life and those of others facing the death penalty, according to an audio message she sent from prison that was shared Wednesday by rights groups.
The plea by Mahboubeh Shahbani, 33, from a prison in the eastern Iranian city of Mashhad, came after authorities executed two more men on charges linked to the major anti-regime protests in January.
Rights groups accuse Iran of ramping up executions of high-profile prisoners in a bid to intimidate the population and ensure there is no repeat of the protests, which preceded the U.S. and Israel launching their joint war against the Islamic republic on Feb. 28.
Iran more than doubled its use of executions in 2025, Amnesty International said earlier this year.
“The sentence handed down to me shows that many others are in danger of execution,” Shahbani said in a telephone call from the phone for prisoners in Mashhad’s Vakilabad prison.
“I am not worried about myself. I am worried for the others whose sentences have been upheld,” she said in the call, an audio recording of which was shared by Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and the U.S.-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the message.
“I call on everyone – the public, the U.N., human rights organizations. Not just for me but for all the others whose sentences have been upheld and who have spent months sleeping in fear and stress at night,” she said. “I call on them to do something.”
According to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Shahbani was convicted of carrying out actions “to strengthen Israel, the U.S., and individuals affiliated with opposition groups” in the protests.
IHR said she had merely used her motorcycle to transport injured protesters.
CBS/AFP
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