Najmeh Amini, a 23-year-old accounting student held in Vakilabad prison in Mashhad, was sentenced to death in Iran for sab ol-nabi after a social-media post. She also received 12 years, six months and one day in a separate case tied to charges of acting against national security and spreading propaganda against the regime.
An audio recording released last month gave the case a more personal edge. In it, Amini said: "I do not want to make a hero out of myself today. I only want one thing: be my voice" and "I have parents who are waiting for me. A family that every night, with the fear of losing me, turns their night into morning."
Vakilabad prison and the appeal
The sentence is not final. Najmeh Amini’s death sentence remains subject to appeal before Iran’s supreme court, which leaves the next legal step inside Iran’s own judiciary rather than outside it. The post itself has not been publicly disclosed, narrowing public scrutiny of the evidence that led to a capital conviction.
Khorasan reported that Amini told the court she had posted the remarks while hallucinating after taking psychedelic mushrooms with friends. Her defence said the remarks were a slip of the tongue, but the presiding judge rejected that argument.
Iran Human Rights and article 262
Iran Human Rights said more than 600 executions have already been carried out this year. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: "Sentencing a young woman to death for what she posted on social media risks normalising the use of the death penalty against peaceful expression and pushing the boundaries of the death penalty even further," and added: "If the international community does not respond firmly now, cases like this could become far more common,".
Under article 262 of Iran’s Islamic penal code, insulting the prophet Muhammad or revered Shia figures is punishable by death. Article 263 provides exemptions for statements made while intoxicated or without deliberate intent, though offenders may still face up to 74 lashes in certain circumstances.
January’s nationwide protests
A source close to Najmeh Amini’s family said Fata, Iran’s Cyber Police, carried out online monitoring that led to the case. Amini was also arrested by security forces during January’s nationwide protests, which were later suppressed with a deadly crackdown.
For Amini, the immediate question now is whether the appeal can change a death sentence that rests on a social-media post whose exact contents have not been made public. Her case now sits at the point where article 263, the defence, and the supreme court review will decide whether that sentence stands.
