Amid negotiations with Iran, US President Donald Trump has called on Tehran to release eight women protestors who are on death row. Taking to Truth Social, the Republican leader urged Iran to release the women, adding that their release would aid in the ongoing negotiations to bring an end to the war.
The eight women, of whom two are 16-year-old girls, were arrested as part of the Iranian government’s crackdown on the anti-regime protests in January.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump reposted a post by American pro-Israel activist Eyal Yakoby, which stated that the eight protestors are due to be executed.
Writing on the social media platform, the US president said he would “greatly appreciate the release of these women.”
“To the Iranian leaders, who will soon be in negotiations with my representatives: I would greatly appreciate the release of these women. I am sure that they will respect the fact that you did so. Please do them no harm! Would be a great start to our negotiations!!!” said his Truth Social post.
Who are the eight women on death row?
While the post did not mention the name of the protestors, US-based Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad has shared the names of the protestors arrested by the Iranian regime.
As per the posts made on her X account, one of the women identified is Bita Hemmati, who was sentenced to death, along with her husband and two others, for throwing concrete blocks at security forces.
Hemmati is also believed to have appeared in a video broadcast on state television while being personally interrogated by judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.
Another woman, identified as 32-year-old Mahboubeh Shabani by the Norway-based Hengaw rights group, has been charged with the capital offence of “waging war against God”.
As per an AFP report, this charge comes after she was accused of using her motorcycle to transport wounded protesters in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
Along with Shabani, 16-year-old Diana Taherabadi has also been charged with “waging a war against God’ after she was arrested participating in the anti-regime protests.
Two other women mentioned in the post have also been identified. Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the parents of 28-year-old Venus Hosseininejad said she was taken into custody on January 15 and was forced to confess to crimes against the state on public TV.
As per the Femena human rights group, 37-year-old Golnaz Naraghi, who is an internal medicine specialist, was also arrested in January and forced to sign a confession.
Based on information shared by Alinejad, 16-year-old Ghazal Ghalandari was also arrested for participating in the arrests.
The other women arrested and on death row are Panah Movahedi and Ensieh Nejati.
Iran says Trump fell for ‘fake news’
Iran has denied that these women are on death row, adding that the US President has once again fallen prey to “fake news”.
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As reported by state media Mizan Online, which is also considered the official outlet for the Iranian judiciary, Iran stated that many of the women in the images shared by Trump have been released.
“Trump was misled once again by fake news. The women who were claimed to be on the verge of execution, some of them have been released, while others face charges that, if convictions are upheld, would at most result in imprisonment,” the statement read.
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