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Iran will issue its first female protest related to the January 2026 revolution in Tehran, according to several human rights organizations.
Bita Hemmati was named in a joint death sentence with three other defendants, including her husband, Mohammadreza Majid-Asl, 34, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
The neighbors of the couple, who were reported to be neighbors, Behrouz Zamaninejad and Kourosh Zamaninejad, were also sentenced to death, while a relative, Amir Hemmati, was sentenced to five years in prison.
The verdicts mark some of the latest death penalty decisions amid the government’s broader crackdown on violence. Almost thousands of protesters have reportedly been killed since the protests began this year.
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Iranians gather while blocking a road during a protest in Tehran, Iran on Jan. 9, 2026. (MAHSA Images / Middle East / AFP via Getty Images)
“Mohammadreza Majidi-Asl and Bita Hemmati are a couple living in Tehran, and Amir Hemmati is a relative of the two,” the source told HRANA. “Kourosh Zamaninejad and Behrouz Zamaninejad lived in the same apartment building, and their arrests happened at the same time.”
No launch date has been given.
The Tehran Transitional Court has reportedly indicted the defendants on multiple charges, including interference with national security in connection with the “hostile government of the United States,” according to HRANA.
On Jan. 8 and 9, the defendants allegedly used explosives and weapons, threw objects such as concrete blocks and hot objects from the roof, injuring security personnel, and engaged in “anti-state rhetoric” in an attempt to weaken security, according to federal authorities.
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In this photo taken by AP video outside Iran, a masked protester holds a picture of Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC through AP)
Along with the death penalty verdicts, the court also imposed five years of voluntary imprisonment and ordered the confiscation of their property.
Officials added that a fifth accomplice, Amir Hemmati, was convicted of “organization and conspiracy against national security” and “anti-state propaganda,” the groups said.
Human rights activists continued to express concern that the confessions of the suspects may have been coerced, complaining of allegations of torture and interrogation.
Mourners hold portraits of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Isfahan, Iran, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Payman Shahsanaei/ISNA via AP)
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These organizations, which encourage the killing of people to be stopped, also said that there is no direct evidence linking the defendant to the crimes he is accused of, and said that Tehran wants to intimidate the public in order to avoid future riots.
Widespread protests began to erupt in late December 2025 in Tehran amid an economic crisis marked by financial collapse and inflation. The conflict quickly escalated into anti-government riots that spread to many cities.
Washington formally joined the conflict with the launch of Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, 2026, when it carried out a massive joint airstrike with Israel that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
