A 33-year-old Iranian blogger has been sentenced to death for charges including insulting the country's supreme leader and undermining national security. Soda Ebrahimi Shamsabadi was accused of “corruption on earth,” insulting the supreme leader, engaging in “media and propaganda activities against national security,” and collaborating with hostile governments, according to Iran International.
She is also facing punishment for photographing a missile strike site and sending the image to a Persian-language media outlet outside Iran. Shamsabadi, who has 10,000 followers on Instagram, was reportedly held in Bandar Abbas Prison since March and spent 20 days in solitary confinement.
In social media posts, Shamsabadi wrote about the government's repression during nationwide protests in January, stating, “We saw how much they killed us.” She also noted the existence of photographic, video, and documentary evidence of state actions, along with eyewitness accounts. In what appeared to be a final message on Instagram on Feb. 23, she wrote, “If one day I leave this world, just know one thing — I chose the path I believed in.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, stated that the increasing number of death sentences in Iran is intended to “instill fear among the population and suppress dissent.” Data from Norway-based Iran Human Rights indicates that at least 29 individuals arrested during the January protests have been executed since March. The U.S.-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center has documented approximately 950 executions in Iran so far this year.