Iranian blogger sentenced to death for "insulting" supreme leader amid rising executions of dissidents - report
Marziyeh "Sevda" Ebrahimi Shamsabadi, 33, was reportedly sentenced to death in Bandar Abbas on charges including insulting Iran's supreme leader and cooperating with hostile foreign governments
Marziyeh "Sevda" Ebrahimi Shamsabadi, a 33-year-old blogger from Bandar Abbas, has been sentenced to death, according to information obtained by Iran International. Branch 3 of the Bandar Abbas Revolutionary Court convicted her on charges including insulting Iran's supreme leader, media and propaganda activity against national security, intelligence and security activity on behalf of hostile governments, and taking and sending photographs to Persian-language media abroad.
The court also sentenced her to two to five years in prison, barred her from certain government services, and ordered the confiscation of her property.
Shamsabadi's lawyer was notified of the death sentence on August 23. She was held in solitary confinement for 20 days and faced severe pressure during interrogation, with her family not informed of her whereabouts or condition during that period.
The sentence was issued by Judge Khajeh-Hassani, previously praised by judiciary officials for his high volume of rulings.
In her final Instagram post on February 23, addressed to her 10,000 followers, Shamsabadi wrote, "If one day I leave this world, just know one thing — I chose the path I believed in," captioning an image of a dove and red rose, "either I die, or these bastards." Shamsabadi, who was raised in Tehran and lived in Bandar Abbas, has been held since March in Bandar Abbas Prison.
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UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has said Iran is using executions to "instill fear among the population and suppress dissent." According to Norway-based Iran Human Rights, at least 29 people arrested in connection with the January protests have been executed since March 19, in addition to two protesters from the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom movement.
The US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center said it has documented 950 executions in Iran since the start of 2026, including at least 20 women and 30 protesters.