Lucrezia Ciotti Taraneh and Romina Rahimi, 19-year-old Iranian twins , were sentenced to death and 25 years in prison, respectively, after participating in the anti-government protests in Isfahan in January. The family reports torture and forced confessions and fears Taraneh's execution could be swift.
Iran: Twins Sentenced After Protests; Family Alleges Torture
Taraneh and Romina Rahimi , 19-year-old Iranian twins, were in high school when they took part in an anti-government demonstration in Isfahan on January 8 and 9. About a month later, according to their family members' account to the Guardian , they were taken from their rooms at night by masked men identified as members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards.
Their mother, Marzieh Nourmohammadi, remained without information about their fate for four months, searching in vain for them in hospitals, courts, and government offices. Only a phone call summoned her to Dowlatabad prison, where she finally managed to meet them in May.
Their cousin Masoud Nourmohammadi, who has lived in the United States for 22 years, said the girls appeared deeply scarred: their faces were swollen, they had bruises, fractures to their elbows , knuckles and feet and they had lost much of their hair.
According to the family, they were subjected to long periods of solitary confinement . Taraneh also claimed that she was forced to sign a confession under the threat of sexual violence against her sister . Lawyers maintain that the admissions were obtained through torture and that no evidence of the girls' involvement in violent acts was presented.
Iran: Twins arrested after protests: one sentenced to death, the other to 25 years
The trial, held behind closed doors without the mother being able to attend, ended with Taraneh being sentenced to death and Romina receiving a 25-year prison sentence . The two sisters are part of the so-called "Shohada Square case in Isfahan," which involves 16 defendants arrested after the January protests: ten, including Taraneh, were sentenced to death, while the others received long prison sentences.
The charges include moharebeh, meaning "enmity against God," for alleged possession of bladed weapons, as well as damage to public property, illegal assembly, and propaganda against the regime. Since the sentencing, the twins' families have been unable to see them and fear the hanging may take place before a review can be obtained.
Masoud, who decided to go public despite receiving death threats, told the Guardian : " They don't even follow their own laws ," citing the 18-day appeal period. His cousin believes the severity of the sentence is intended to discourage further demonstrations: " I think they want to instill fear in the population ." The case is part of a broader crackdown on Iranian protests, for which widely differing death and arrest figures are circulating among human rights organizations and the Islamic Republic's authorities. Meanwhile, the family continues to demand to see the two young women again and to prevent Taraneh's execution.