URGENT: A Matter of Life and Death

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Nov 16 2025, 5:03 PM

A women's rights activist in Iran, named Zahra Tabari, has been sentenced to death.

I'll admit to knowing very, very little about her situation. But I know that it is wrong.

This link has a form letter you can send to various officials to pressure them into action.

https://campaignclub.substack.com/p/urgent-a-matter-of-life-and-death

It's possible that this will not save her. But at the very least, it will show people that we care about her enough to try. And put Iran on blast.

spinningIntellect

Nov 16 2025, 5:03 PM #1

eyeswideopen

159

Nov 17 2025, 8:43 AM

Thank you so much for posting this here. I've sent emails to the addresses listed in the post.

eyeswideopen

Nov 17 2025, 8:43 AM #2

Thank you so much for posting this here. I've sent emails to the addresses listed in the post.

Clover
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1,426

Nov 18 2025, 9:29 PM

Horrifying and heartbreaking. Additional info:

Quote:Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, a 67-year-old Iranian political prisoner, has been sentenced to death by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht — marking the first time a woman supporter of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) has received such a sentence.

Her “crime,” according to regime authorities, was possessing a small piece of fabric inscribed with the slogan “Woman, Resistance, Freedom” and an unpublished voice message. The trial, held online, lasted less than ten minutes, without a real defense. Her court-appointed lawyer offered no resistance, and the verdict was issued immediately. She now has only ten days to appeal while held in Lakan Prison in Rasht.

Source: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1908986/episodes/18152637-zahra-shahbaz-tabari-a-death-sentence-in-ten-minutes

Quote:Femena strongly condemns the death sentence handed down to Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, a 67-year-old Iranian political prisoner, on charges of alleged collaboration with groups opposing the Islamic Republic. The sentence was issued by a revolutionary court in Rasht following a deeply flawed and unjust legal process.

[...]

The verdict was delivered last week by Judge Ahmad Darvish of Branch One of the Rasht Revolutionary Court after a brief video hearing lasting less than ten minutes. Her family has described the proceedings as a “sham” and “illegal.” Shahbaz Tabari was denied access to an independent lawyer, and the court-appointed attorney reportedly failed to defend her, instead endorsing the pre-determined verdict.

Source: https://femena.net/2025/11/11/iran-death-sentence-issued-against-67-year-old-political-prisoner-zahra-shahbaz-tabari/

Edited Nov 18 2025, 9:29 PM by Clover.

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Clover

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Nov 18 2025, 9:29 PM #3

Horrifying and heartbreaking. Additional info:

Quote:Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, a 67-year-old Iranian political prisoner, has been sentenced to death by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht — marking the first time a woman supporter of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) has received such a sentence.

Her “crime,” according to regime authorities, was possessing a small piece of fabric inscribed with the slogan “Woman, Resistance, Freedom” and an unpublished voice message. The trial, held online, lasted less than ten minutes, without a real defense. Her court-appointed lawyer offered no resistance, and the verdict was issued immediately. She now has only ten days to appeal while held in Lakan Prison in Rasht.

Source: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1908986/episodes/18152637-zahra-shahbaz-tabari-a-death-sentence-in-ten-minutes

Quote:Femena strongly condemns the death sentence handed down to Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, a 67-year-old Iranian political prisoner, on charges of alleged collaboration with groups opposing the Islamic Republic. The sentence was issued by a revolutionary court in Rasht following a deeply flawed and unjust legal process.

[...]

The verdict was delivered last week by Judge Ahmad Darvish of Branch One of the Rasht Revolutionary Court after a brief video hearing lasting less than ten minutes. Her family has described the proceedings as a “sham” and “illegal.” Shahbaz Tabari was denied access to an independent lawyer, and the court-appointed attorney reportedly failed to defend her, instead endorsing the pre-determined verdict.

Source: https://femena.net/2025/11/11/iran-death-sentence-issued-against-67-year-old-political-prisoner-zahra-shahbaz-tabari/

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hatpin

Nov 18 2025, 11:29 PM

Sister, I wanted to thank you for posting this here. I overlooked responding to you, as I went directly to email the day you posted.

hatpin

Nov 18 2025, 11:29 PM #4

Sister, I wanted to thank you for posting this here. I overlooked responding to you, as I went directly to email the day you posted.

Clover
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Nov 19 2025, 5:41 PM

Going to keep bumping this with whatever content I can find. I am concerned since she was arrested around April, most news has been in the end of October, and just a few weeks ago we're getting these latest petitions and condemnations.

"Statement condemning the death Sentence of Zahra Shahbaz Tabari" from The Alliance for the Prevention of Atrocity Crimes from October 27 2025: https://preventingac.org/blog/f/statement-condemning-the-death-sentence-of-zahra-shahbaz-tabari

I can't find any news about an execution date, which maybe I should take as "good" news that nothing is planned yet and protesting/writing to politicians and organizations might work.

Researching about political executions in Iran in general has been pretty grim:

Iran: Over 1,000 people executed as authorities step up horrifying assault on right to life, Amnesty International Iranian authorities have executed over 1,000 people thus far in 2025, the highest number of yearly executions in Iran that the organization has recorded in at least 15 years, said Amnesty International. The organization is calling on the Iranian authorities to establish an immediate moratorium on executions as a first step, and issuing an urgent plea on other states to immediately intervene to pressure the Iranian authorities to halt all planned executions.

Within less than nine months, the number of people executed by the Iranian authorities so far this year has already surpassed last year’s grim total of 972 executions.

Since the 2022 Woman Life Freedom uprising, the Iranian authorities increased their use of the death penalty as a tool of state repression and to crush dissent, and amid an ongoing spike in executions for drug-related offences.

Source: Amnesty International: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/09/iran-over-1000-people-executed-as-authorities-step-up-horrifying-assault-on-right-to-life/

Edited Nov 19 2025, 5:43 PM by Clover.

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Nov 19 2025, 5:41 PM #5

Iran: Over 1,000 people executed as authorities step up horrifying assault on right to life, Amnesty International Iranian authorities have executed over 1,000 people thus far in 2025, the highest number of yearly executions in Iran that the organization has recorded in at least 15 years, said Amnesty International. The organization is calling on the Iranian authorities to establish an immediate moratorium on executions as a first step, and issuing an urgent plea on other states to immediately intervene to pressure the Iranian authorities to halt all planned executions.

Within less than nine months, the number of people executed by the Iranian authorities so far this year has already surpassed last year’s grim total of 972 executions.

Since the 2022 Woman Life Freedom uprising, the Iranian authorities increased their use of the death penalty as a tool of state repression and to crush dissent, and amid an ongoing spike in executions for drug-related offences.

Source: Amnesty International: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/09/iran-over-1000-people-executed-as-authorities-step-up-horrifying-assault-on-right-to-life/

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Kozlik
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Nov 24 2025, 4:09 PM

This thread has been split. This thread now remains for its initial purpose of attempting to encourage organizations and public officials to prevent the execution of Zahra Tabari.

Comments that ventured into discussing her possible reasons for being sentenced to death and Global South politics are now located here: https://clovenhooves.org/showthread.php?tid=1716

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Nov 24 2025, 4:09 PM #6

Clover
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Dec 1 2025, 2:42 AM

November 29 2025: Zahra Tabari: Facing Execution Over “a Piece of Cloth and a Voice Note” — WNCRI: https://wncri.org/2025/11/29/zahra-tabari-facing-execution/

While trying to figure out potential biases of news sources, since this is not being reported on widely, I found this interesting forum thread about NCRI from some "Iran Politics Club Forum" going back to 2005.

Edited Dec 1 2025, 2:47 AM by Clover.

Clover

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Dec 1 2025, 2:42 AM #7

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Dec 4 2025, 2:34 AM

This article was also posted on the same day: Group of MEPs Condemns Death Sentence Against Iranian Political Prisoner Zahra Tabari — Iran Freedom (NCRI-based website): https://iranfreedom.org/en/human-rights/2025/11/group-of-meps-condemns-death-sentence-against-iranian-political-prisoner-zahra-tabari/81189/amp/

Quote:On November 27, 2025, a group of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) stood up for Zahra Tabari, a 67-year-old engineer and political prisoner who supports the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), echoing her voice within the halls of the European Parliament. Tabari was sentenced to death by the Iranian clerical regime’s judiciary following a sham 10-minute trial orchestrated by its executioners.
Several MEPs, holding photographs of the condemned woman, officially denounced the ruling as unjust and tyrannical, urging the regime to stop executions in Iran and break the vicious cycle of repression and terror.

Clover

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Dec 4 2025, 2:34 AM #8

Quote:On November 27, 2025, a group of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) stood up for Zahra Tabari, a 67-year-old engineer and political prisoner who supports the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), echoing her voice within the halls of the European Parliament. Tabari was sentenced to death by the Iranian clerical regime’s judiciary following a sham 10-minute trial orchestrated by its executioners.
Several MEPs, holding photographs of the condemned woman, officially denounced the ruling as unjust and tyrannical, urging the regime to stop executions in Iran and break the vicious cycle of repression and terror.

Clover
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1,426

Dec 9 2025, 3:03 PM

There isn't much new news about Zahra Tabari lately, but I've been looking through older articles to glean more information. The "good news" is that several Iran news sources appear to document Iran's executions as they happen, and her name has not yet appeared to have come up in those kinds of articles.

November 12 2025: "The 67-Year-Old Iranian Woman Condemned to Death After a 10-Minute Trial…Over A Piece of Fabric" — EA WorldView: https://eaworldview.com/2025/11/iranian-woman-condemned-to-death-after-a-10-minute-trial/

The biases of EA WorldView appear to be "neutral" according to Biasly.com (which I don't know/didn't look into the biases of ala "who watches the watchmen"): https://www.biasly.com/sources/ea-worldview-media-bias/

Biasly, about EA WorldView Founded in 2011 by Scott Lucas, EA WorldView was created to provide in-depth analysis and reporting on global events, particularly focusing on the Middle East and international relations. Scott, a professor of international politics, started the site to fill a gap in the coverage of significant political developments and conflicts, especially during the Arab Spring. Today, EA WorldView is independently operated and continues to provide insights into complex global issues. EA WorldView primarily covers political news, international relations, and social issues, with a strong emphasis on the Middle East, including countries like Syria, Iran, and Iraq. The publication aims to offer detailed analysis and commentary on current events, making it a valuable resource for readers interested in understanding global politics. Based in the United Kingdom, EA WorldView serves a diverse audience, including academics, policymakers, and anyone interested in international affairs.

This EA WorldView article mentions the name of her son, Soroush Samak, who lives in Sweden. She also has a daughter who lives in Iran.

By searching the name of her son, I was able to find this Swedish article from Aftonbladet published November 1st 2025: https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/25ROKl/hans-mamma-har-domts-till-doden-i-iran-en-katastrof

The article is in Swedish so I am using auto-translate: "His mother has been sentenced to death in Iran: “A disaster”"

Aftonbladet, auto-translated from Swedish After more than six months of silence, Soroush Samak, 36, was able to contact his mother from inside the Iranian prison.

"I go to bed with the fear of losing her and wake up with the hope of seeing her free. I hadn't heard her voice in seven months until last week. Then she told me about how the legal process has been," he says.

He and his mother Zahra Tabari came to Sweden in 2005 along with several other Iranian citizens to study.

She chose a master's program in sustainable energy at the University of Borås. Three years later, when it was time to return home to Iran, her son Souroush Samak stayed in town.

[...]

Zahra Tabari was accused of having connections with the Mujahedin resistance movement.

For that, she has now been sentenced to death.

"According to her, she is not guilty of anything. She has never been a member of the organization, not even when she was young," says Soroush Samak.

The website "Media Bias/Fact Check" rates Aftonbladet as left-leaning tabloid news source with a "mixed" rating on credibility: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/aftonbladet/

Aftonbladet is apparently Swedish adults' (distant) 2nd most consumed news source according to Pew Research.

Edited Dec 9 2025, 3:05 PM by Clover.

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Dec 9 2025, 3:03 PM #9

Biasly, about EA WorldView Founded in 2011 by Scott Lucas, EA WorldView was created to provide in-depth analysis and reporting on global events, particularly focusing on the Middle East and international relations. Scott, a professor of international politics, started the site to fill a gap in the coverage of significant political developments and conflicts, especially during the Arab Spring. Today, EA WorldView is independently operated and continues to provide insights into complex global issues. EA WorldView primarily covers political news, international relations, and social issues, with a strong emphasis on the Middle East, including countries like Syria, Iran, and Iraq. The publication aims to offer detailed analysis and commentary on current events, making it a valuable resource for readers interested in understanding global politics. Based in the United Kingdom, EA WorldView serves a diverse audience, including academics, policymakers, and anyone interested in international affairs.

Aftonbladet, auto-translated from Swedish After more than six months of silence, Soroush Samak, 36, was able to contact his mother from inside the Iranian prison.

"I go to bed with the fear of losing her and wake up with the hope of seeing her free. I hadn't heard her voice in seven months until last week. Then she told me about how the legal process has been," he says.

He and his mother Zahra Tabari came to Sweden in 2005 along with several other Iranian citizens to study.

She chose a master's program in sustainable energy at the University of Borås. Three years later, when it was time to return home to Iran, her son Souroush Samak stayed in town.

[...]

Zahra Tabari was accused of having connections with the Mujahedin resistance movement.

For that, she has now been sentenced to death.

"According to her, she is not guilty of anything. She has never been a member of the organization, not even when she was young," says Soroush Samak.

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Clover
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Dec 12 2025, 3:29 AM

#10

Still no "real" news on the status of Zahra Tabari.

I found this piece from "Iran Focus" dated December 11 2025, which mentions her:

Iran Focus On December 10, 2025, the European Parliament served as the stage for a critical convergence of Iranian opposition leaders and Western policymakers. Marking International Human Rights Day, a high-profile conference hosted in Brussels brought together Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), alongside a coalition of former ministers, lawmakers, and international legal experts.
The proceedings focused on a stark dual reality: the Iranian regime’s unprecedented escalation of executions and the simultaneous consolidation of an organized resistance movement. Speakers detailed a human rights crisis that has surpassed historical benchmarks while outlining a “Third Option” for the international community—a policy framework that rejects both appeasement and foreign military intervention, relying instead on the Iranian people to dismantle the religious dictatorship.

[...]

Kumi Naidoo, former Secretary-General of Amnesty International, focused on the demographics driving this movement. He described Iranian women and the Resistance Units as “the heartbeat of the nationwide struggle.” Citing the case of Zahra Tabari, a 67-year-old engineer sentenced to death for holding a banner reading “Woman, Resistance, Freedom,” Naidoo argued that such extreme repression reveals the regime’s “political weakness” and fear of its own citizens.

The website sourcewatch.org rates "IranFocus" as a biased towards PMOI/MKO and an unverifiable news source.

This European Parliament conference was also reported on by the Committee for the Support of Human Rights in Iran (CSDHI). The article is in French: https://csdhi.org/actualites/repression/51702-il-est-temps-den-finir-avec-la-lachete-morale-lue-doit-affronter-le-regne-de-terreur-de-liran/

Reading the English auto-translation, I can see hints of promotion of Western interference mentioned by other members:

CSDHI article — It is time to end moral cowardice: the EU must confront Iran's reign of terror. (Auto-translated) The time for appeasement and "moral cowardice" is over. The European Union must recognize that defending human rights in Iran is not an ideological preference but the very heart of its diplomatic mission.

Zahra Tabari is mentioned in this piece in a more "martyr-like" way:

CSDHI article — It is time to end moral cowardice: the EU must confront Iran's reign of terror. (Auto-translated) Despite the regime's efforts to instill fear — including through public executions or by targeting activists like 67-year-old engineer Zahra Tabari — the flame of resistance has never been extinguished.

CSDHI — Who are we? (Auto-translated) The Committee for the Support of Human Rights in Iran (CSDHI) was founded in December 2004 by victims of the regime's repression in Iran who had sought refuge in France. According to its statutes, the association's objective is to promote human rights in Iran, to support parties and organizations fighting for democracy in Iran, and to encourage and organize actions and demonstrations against human rights violations in Iran at the international level.

It's harder to find information about this news source, since it seems more obscure, but suffice to say it is likely similar to Iran Focus in terms of biases.

TL;DR: implication from these sources is hopefully that she is not executed.

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Clover

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Dec 12 2025, 3:29 AM #10

Still no "real" news on the status of Zahra Tabari.

I found this piece from "Iran Focus" dated December 11 2025, which mentions her:

Iran Focus On December 10, 2025, the European Parliament served as the stage for a critical convergence of Iranian opposition leaders and Western policymakers. Marking International Human Rights Day, a high-profile conference hosted in Brussels brought together Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), alongside a coalition of former ministers, lawmakers, and international legal experts.
The proceedings focused on a stark dual reality: the Iranian regime’s unprecedented escalation of executions and the simultaneous consolidation of an organized resistance movement. Speakers detailed a human rights crisis that has surpassed historical benchmarks while outlining a “Third Option” for the international community—a policy framework that rejects both appeasement and foreign military intervention, relying instead on the Iranian people to dismantle the religious dictatorship.

[...]

Kumi Naidoo, former Secretary-General of Amnesty International, focused on the demographics driving this movement. He described Iranian women and the Resistance Units as “the heartbeat of the nationwide struggle.” Citing the case of Zahra Tabari, a 67-year-old engineer sentenced to death for holding a banner reading “Woman, Resistance, Freedom,” Naidoo argued that such extreme repression reveals the regime’s “political weakness” and fear of its own citizens.

CSDHI article — It is time to end moral cowardice: the EU must confront Iran's reign of terror. (Auto-translated) The time for appeasement and "moral cowardice" is over. The European Union must recognize that defending human rights in Iran is not an ideological preference but the very heart of its diplomatic mission.

Zahra Tabari is mentioned in this piece in a more "martyr-like" way:

CSDHI article — It is time to end moral cowardice: the EU must confront Iran's reign of terror. (Auto-translated) Despite the regime's efforts to instill fear — including through public executions or by targeting activists like 67-year-old engineer Zahra Tabari — the flame of resistance has never been extinguished.

CSDHI — Who are we? (Auto-translated) The Committee for the Support of Human Rights in Iran (CSDHI) was founded in December 2004 by victims of the regime's repression in Iran who had sought refuge in France. According to its statutes, the association's objective is to promote human rights in Iran, to support parties and organizations fighting for democracy in Iran, and to encourage and organize actions and demonstrations against human rights violations in Iran at the international level.

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