Iranian activist Sharifeh Mohammadi, sentenced to death for a second time in February, has issued a letter from prison describing the torture and solitary confinement endured during her detention.
Mohammadi, 45, is held in Lakan Prison in northern Iran. In her letter, she said she was tortured during interrogations and pressured to sign written confessions. When she refused, the abuse continued: “They tried to torture me into signing. I refused, and was tortured again—my face was injured.”
She was then placed in solitary confinement for three months without contact with other women prisoners, during which she lost 14 kilograms. “I still don’t know what crime I committed to deserve such a sentence,” she wrote.
Mohammadi believes her prosecution is linked to her public involvement with workers’ organisations and coordination committees over the past decade. “All my work was open. I was punished for it,” she said.
Despite her ordeal, she expressed defiance and hope: “No winter lasts forever. One must not live in despair or kneel—one must live with hope.”
Mohammadi was first arrested in December 2023 and sentenced to death in July 2024 by Iran’s Rasht Revolutionary Court. The sentence was overturned in October but reinstated by the court’s 2nd branch on 13 February.
Her case has drawn widespread criticism from human rights groups, including Amnesty International, which launched an Urgent Action campaign in response to her treatment and the broader crackdown on activists in Iran.
