Iran sentences Najmeh Amini, 23, to death for some social media posts: "Remember my name, I may never speak again"

Iran has sentenced Najmeh Amini, a 23-year-old student, to death for a publication on social networks, at a time when the country is experiencing an escalation of executions and punishments against those who participated in the anti-government protests last January. Amini, detained during the mobilizations and imprisoned in Mashhad, is also serving more than 12 years in prison in another trial, although both sentences can still be appealed before the Supreme Court.

His case comes after the Oslo-based monitor Iran Human Rights counted more than 600 executions so far this year, and Amnesty International reported that between September 30 and October 5, five young people convicted of participating in the protests were executed. Human rights organizations warn that authorities are increasingly using capital punishment to sow fear, and Parliament is now considering punishing contact with foreign media, including publications on social networks that are considered financed from abroad.

Amini was convicted of blasphemy for some social media posts that have not been revealed in the media. A source close to her family explained to the American organization HRANA that the Iranian cyber police, known as Fata, monitored her online, despite the fact that the accused's profile was private. Rights groups report that she suffered serious physical attacks during detention and spent almost three months isolated in the prison's security wing.

The Iranian Islamic Penal Code punishes insulting the prophet with death, although it provides exceptions for those who speak under the influence of alcohol or without intention, a case that can lead to up to 74 lashes. According to the Iranian newspaper Khorasan, which confirmed the trial, Amini claimed in court that he wrote the comments while suffering from hallucinations after eating mushrooms with friends, but his defense was rejected. During the hearing, the prosecution asked Amini why, if he was under the effects of a hallucinogen, it did not occur to him to also insult the United States or Israel, countries that are enemies of Tehran and that launched a war against the regime at the end of February.

From prison he has managed to send an audio recording to the media, in which he asks for help to stop his death sentence. "I don't intend to become a heroine today. I only want one thing: for them to be my voice," she declares in the recording. "Remember my name, I may not speak again. But as long as I live, I have one hope, that before the noose marks the end of my life, I will see my Iran prosperous and free."

A protest that began in late December over the collapse of the rial against the dollar quickly spread throughout the country with cries against the regime. The authorities put down the protests with great violence, with more than 50,000 arrested and 7,000 dead, according to rights groups, while other organizations put the death toll at more than 10,000.