Sentenced to Death and Imprisoned: The Harrowing Fate of Iranian Twin Sisters Arrested During Protests

Taken from their beds in the dead of night by masked operatives linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the twins were just 19 and still in high school.

After enduring four months of agonizing uncertainty, their mother, Marzieh Nourmohammadi, finally uncovered the truth. Taraneh and Romina Rahimi were seized for joining the millions of Iranians who took to the streets during January’s anti-regime protests. By the time their mother visited them in prison in May, the sisters were barely recognizable.

The visit to Dowlatabad prison in Isfahan, Iran’s central major city, occurred five months ago. Recent court disclosures confirm that Taraneh has been sentenced to death for her role in the January protests, while Romina received a 25-year prison term. The family has had no contact with the women since the sentencing.

The disparity in their sentences remains unexplained, though the twins’ cousin, Masoud Nourmohammadi, a resident of Utah, expressed his bewilderment at the regime’s actions.

“They do not abide by their own laws,” Nourmohammadi stated. “While there is an 18-day window for lawyers to file appeals, this procedure is frequently bypassed in recent execution cases. They simply sentence the youths and execute them by hanging. Nothing makes any sense.”

The 43-year-old believes Taraneh faces the death penalty due to her evident innocence. “You can see her eyes and immediately recognize that she is a kind person,” he noted. “It seems they are attempting to instill fear, sending a message: ‘No matter how fine or innocent you are, we can reach you—so stay off the streets.'”

Despite the logistical hurdles posed by the conflict with the US and Israel that commenced in February, Iran has carried out over 500 executions this year. At least 29 of these deaths are linked to the January anti-government protests.

At least 16 of those executed were women. Hundreds of other protesters face death sentences or charges carrying the death penalty, including over 70 individuals in Isfahan alone.

Last month, the United Kingdom and 30 other nations signed a joint statement denouncing the executions of the January protesters, characterizing them as a deliberate effort to suppress dissent.

Nourmohammadi, a healthcare IT specialist who emigrated from Iran 22 years ago, is risking his safety to speak out, despite receiving death threats via text and social media from individuals claiming to know his address. He believes his cousins’ case should galvanize efforts to dismantle the Islamic regime.

The sisters participated in the protests on January 8 and 9 in Isfahan, standing alongside 18 million others. A month later, men wearing masks seized them with bags over their heads, offering no explanation. “The family had no idea where they were,” Nourmohammadi recalled. “They searched desperately through courts and hospitals. Then my aunt received a call stating, ‘We have your girls; come to the prison.'”

The reunion was devastating for his aunt, Nourmohammadi added. “She could not recognize her own children. They were beaten, with severely swollen faces and bruises covering their bodies. Their elbows, knuckles, and feet were broken, and they had lost almost all their hair due to being dragged by it between cells. She discovered they had been held in solitary confinement.”

Marzieh Nourmohammadi, who raised her now 20-year-old daughters as a single mother, was barred from attending their trial. Their lawyers claim Taraneh told the court that her confession was extracted through torture. No evidence linking the sisters to violence was presented, and they had no prior history of protest involvement.

“My mother lives with me,” he said. “There is not a single second that passes when she is not crying.”

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