Last week, US President Donald Trump posted an image on Truth Social of eight Iranian women, claiming they had been sentenced to execution and urging Iranian leaders to release them. The following day, he asserted that the women had been pardoned, with four released immediately and four given one-month prison terms. But the reality on the ground, as pieced together by independent human rights organisations, is far more nuanced.
Iran's judiciary-linked Mizan News Agency dismissed Trump's initial post as fabricated, stating that none of the women pictured had received a death sentence. It claimed several had been released, while others faced charges that, if proven, would carry prison terms rather than execution. Simultaneously, Iran-aligned accounts on social media spread the rumour that the image was AI-generated, casting doubt on its authenticity.
Only one confirmed death sentence
According to Oslo-based Iran Human Rights and the US-based NGO Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), only one of the eight women has received a death sentence. Bita Hemmati was arrested in early January alongside her husband, brother, and two others. Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced all five to death. Hemmati was accused of injuring a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and of “operational action for the hostile government of the United States and terrorist groups (anti-revolutionary and monarchist)” through protest activity, including “using explosives, incendiary materials and injuring hundreds of innocent citizens and security defenders.”
HRA noted that the prosecution relied on forced broadcast confessions. Independent news site IranWire, based in the UK, reported that Hemmati's sentence is not final and can be appealed. Current information on the outcome of her case remains limited.
Limited information on the other seven
For the remaining women, the picture is fragmented. Iran Human Rights said Mahboubeh Shabani was detained on 2 February and is held in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, facing death penalty charges. However, HRA told Euronews's fact-checking team that they had not received confirmed information on the severity of charges against her.
Ghazal Ghalandari: both groups reported no credible evidence she has been sentenced to death or remains in detention. Golnaz Naraghi and Venus Hosseinnejad: similarly, few credible reports suggest continued detention or a death sentence. Ensieh Nejati: HRA sources indicate she remains in detention, but without a confirmed death sentence. Diana Taher Abadi: arrested and threatened with a death sentence, but no evidence it was issued. Panah Movahedi: limited credible information on her whereabouts since she disappeared after the 9 January protests.
The information vacuum is acute. Verifying individual cases in Iran is notoriously difficult, especially for protest-related arrests, due to limited access and a near-total internet blackout. The broader geopolitical tensions—including the ongoing shadow war between Iran, the US, and Israel—only compound the challenge.
A joint report by Iran Human Rights and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty found that executions in Iran in 2025 reached their highest level in decades, with at least 1,639 people executed—the highest number since 1989. The European Union has repeatedly condemned Iran's use of the death penalty in protest-related cases, calling it a violation of fundamental human rights. In April 2025, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning what it called Iran's “execution spree,” following the death sentences of activists Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, whose executions were carried out on 27 July 2025.
As the viral claims continue to circulate, the evidence suggests that while one woman faces a confirmed death sentence, the fate of the others remains uncertain. Both Trump's narrative and the AI-generated image allegations oversimplify a complex and opaque situation.
