00:00What do we know about the viral claims of Iranian protesters facing execution?
00:08Last week, US President Donald Trump shared a photo of eight Iranian women claiming they were facing execution,
00:16before later saying four had been released, with the remaining four sentenced to a month in prison.
00:21Some online users claimed the image was AI-generated, a claim amplified by Iran-linked accounts.
00:27Iran's judiciary-linked Mizan News Agency said the report was fabricated and that none of the women had received a
00:34death sentence.
00:35We spoke to human rights organizations monitoring cases in Iran who said that the women in the image are real,
00:41but their evidence does not support the claims circulating online.
00:45According to independent groups Iran Human Rights and Human Rights Activists,
00:50only one of the eight women, Bita Ahmati, is confirmed to have received a death sentence.
00:55For the others, the situation is less clear.
00:58Human Rights Group told us that there is evidence that several were arrested,
01:01with some reportedly released and others possibly still in detention.
01:05For example, Mahbou El-Shabani is reportedly held in Vakilabad prison in Mashhad.
01:11She may be facing serious charges, but a death penalty is unconfirmed.
01:15For others, such as Gazal Galandari, there are no credible reports on if she remains in detention.
01:20Verifying cases in Iran is difficult, especially in protest-related cases,
01:25as access to information is limited and challenging to independently confirm.
01:29Human Rights Groups warned that executions in Iran are at their highest level in the case,
01:34with at least 1,639 people executed in 2025 alone, the highest number recorded since 1989.
01:42The European Union has repeatedly condemned Iran's uses of the death penalty,
01:47especially in cases linked to protests, calling it a violation of fundamental human rights.
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