Iranian twins torn apart as one, 21, faces execution and other gets 25 years in prison

Taraneh Rahimi, 21, faces the death penalty after taking part in anti-regime protests in January alongside her twin sister, Romina.

At least 13 women are facing execution on political or security-related charges in Iran after they participated in protests against the Iranian regime.

One of those women is 21-year-old Taraneh Rahimi, who faces the death penalty after taking part in anti-regime protests in January alongside her twin sister, Romina.

Taraneh’s cousin, Masoud Nourmohammadi, told The Times that the women were arrested by masked men approximately two weeks after the demonstrations.

Mr Nourmohammadi said they were held in solitary confinement in Isfahan for months, allegedly without access to lawyers, and he claimed they were tortured.

Taraneh was sentenced to death on 31 August, while Romina was handed a 25-year prison sentence.

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The Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Centre for Human Rights in Iran claimed that at least eight women were sentenced to death in connection with January’s protests.

Roya Boroumand, the group’s executive director, said their cases were being prosecuted “behind closed doors” while families and lawyers were allegedly being intimidated into silence.

Taraneh and Romina were convicted of charges relating to “waging war against God”, their family say.

Mr Nourmohammadi claimed that the evidence against Taraneh centred on a confession extracted under torture, allegations which could not be independently verified.

He claimed Taraneh suffered serious injuries in custody and is now using a wheelchair. The family said requests for medical treatment have been refused.

The sisters have appealed to Iran’s Supreme Court, but their lawyer, Amirsalar Davoodi, was arrested earlier this month, Mr Nourmohammadi said.

Another woman on death row, civil engineer Mahboubeh Shabani, was arrested in February after she was accused of helping injured demonstrators reach a hospital.

In an audio message shared with The Times, she said: “I did nothing. I only saved a few people.”

Sepideh Gholian, a women’s rights activist and former political prisoner, said women facing execution were “profoundly alone”.

“I hope that tomorrow we will not be left asking why we did not know their names,” she said.