Iran's regime has intensified its crackdown on dissent, with a surge in executions and harsh sentences targeting individuals who participated in anti-government protests. Among the latest cases is that of 20-year-old twins Taraneh and Romina Rahimi, who were arrested in Isfahan after joining protests.
Taraneh Rahimi faces execution and an additional 11 years in prison, while her twin sister, Romina, has been sentenced to 36 years. These verdicts were issued by Branch 1 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court and are initial rulings in the "Isfahan Shohada Square" case. This case involves 16 defendants, with 10 receiving death sentences and the group collectively sentenced to 256 years in prison.
The sisters were reportedly dragged from their beds by masked men in the middle of the night. Their family spent months searching for them before their mother was eventually allowed to visit them at Dowlatabad Prison. According to a U.S.-based cousin, the twins showed signs of severe abuse, including swollen and bruised faces, injuries to their limbs, and significant hair loss, which he attributed to guards pulling their hair during transfers between cells. They were also held in solitary confinement.
Human rights organizations have verified allegations that the sisters were subjected to physical and psychological abuse to extract confessions. Taraneh reportedly told the court that admissions attributed to her were obtained under torture, and her mother was denied permission to attend the trial. The Hana Human Rights Organization confirmed torture allegations in their case.
The crackdown is occurring amidst a documented rise in executions across Iran. The Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran reported 901 executions in the first seven months of the year, including 56 on political or national-security charges. Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, described the situation as a "real war" waged by the Islamic Republic against its own citizens, characterized by the suppression of civil society and dissidents.
Other cases underscore the severity of the crackdown. Seyed Ahmad Seyedabdollahi, a 32-year-old psychologist, was arrested after posting a video appealing to then-President Donald Trump to support Iranian protesters. He was sentenced to seven months in prison and barred from government services for five years. His relatives reported that he was pressured to record a video denigrating Trump and Americans and was subjected to solitary confinement and torture. A second case was opened against him on charges of "propaganda against the system."
These events follow a pattern of internal suppression after periods of external conflict, according to Ben Taleblu. He noted that the regime often turns inward against perceived opponents after facing challenges abroad, characterizing the current situation as a continuation of a 47-year conflict between the government and the Iranian people.
The current wave of repression echoes the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement that erupted after the September 16, 2022, death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman detained by the morality police. Her death sparked widespread protests, the largest challenge to the government since the 2009 Green Movement. Previous major demonstrations also occurred in 2017-18 and 2019.
Experts suggest that international partners should be prepared to aid communication for Iranians, particularly when authorities restrict internet access, which is a common tactic during protests. The regime's fear of coordination among its citizens and their ability to communicate with the international community is a key reason for internet shutdowns, according to Ben Taleblu. He urged Western governments to leverage their cyber capabilities to support Iranians and prevent them from "dying in the darkness."