UN experts urge Iran to stop execution of Political Prisoner, Zahra Shahbaz Tabari
United Nations human rights experts have issued an urgent warning to Iranian authorities, calling for the immediate halt of the execution of Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, a 67-year-old political prisoner currently held in Lakan Prison in Rasht.
In a strongly worded statement, the experts condemned what they described as grave violations of international human rights law in her case, including the denial of a fair trial, the misuse of capital punishment for vaguely defined national security charges, and the criminalization of women’s peaceful activism. They warned that carrying out her execution would constitute an arbitrary deprivation of life under international law and urged Iran to comply with its binding human rights obligations.
The statement of UN experts on Zahra Shahbaz Tabari reads as follows:
UN experts urge Iran to halt execution of a 67-year-old Iranian woman
GENEVA – Iran must immediately stop the execution of Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, a 67-year-old electrical engineer detained in Lakan Prison in Rasht, UN experts said today.
“Ms. Tabari’s case shows a pattern of serious violations of international human rights law regarding fair trial guarantees and the inappropriate use of capital punishment for broad and ill-defined national security offences,” the experts said.
Tabari was sentenced to death on 25 October 2025 by the Revolutionary Court of Rasht for baghi (armed rebellion against the foundations of the Islamic Republic of Iran) based on two pieces of evidence: a piece of cloth bearing the slogan ‘Woman, Resistance, Freedom’—a popular slogan from the 2022 protests—and an unpublished audio message. Authorities alleged she planned to install the cloth as a public banner to challenge the State.
Tabari was arrested during a raid on her home without a judicial warrant. She was interrogated for a month while held in solitary confinement and pressured to confess to taking up arms against the State and to membership in an opposition group. The trial, conducted via video conference, lasted less than 10 minutes.
The experts said Tabari had been denied access to a lawyer of her choosing and was represented by a court-appointed lawyer. The death sentence was issued immediately following the brief hearing.
“The severe procedural violations in this case—including the unlawful deprivation of her liberty, the denial of effective legal representation, the extraordinarily brief trial, the lack of adequate time to prepare a defence, and the use of evidence that appears insufficient to support a charge of baghi—render any resulting conviction unsafe,” the experts said.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Iran in 1975, restricts the death penalty to ‘most serious crimes’, interpreted as intentional killing.
“This case involves no intentional killing and contains numerous procedural violations. To execute Tabari under these circumstances would constitute arbitrary execution,” the experts warned. “Criminalising women’s activism for gender equality and treating such expression as evidence of armed rebellion constitutes a grave form of gender discrimination,” they added.
“The debate around capital punishment has evolved to whether the death penalty per se constitutes a violation of international human rights law. But the way Iran’s judiciary sentences people to death is far removed from such legal discourse,” the experts said.
“What we see here is a mockery of justice that falls far short of the most basic international standards.”
“When a State exercises its power to take away life, it must meet corresponding obligations to rigorously follow due process guarantees, ensure complete transparency, and limit the scope of application to cases involving intentional killing” they said.
Tabari’s case represents one of at least 52 individuals currently facing the death penalty for broadly applied national security offences, including baghi, moharebeh (waging war against God), corruption on earth, and espionage.
Other women political prisoners have also faced execution for baghi. Some of these death sentences have been overturned, but Iranian activist Pakhshan Azizi is currently facing the death penalty for baghi.
“Iran’s systematic use of the death penalty for vaguely defined national security offences represents a serious departure from its international legal obligations,” the experts said.
The experts are in contact with Iranian authorities seeking immediate intervention to prevent this arbitrary execution.
