Who is Najmeh Amini? Iranian accounting student facing death sentence over social media post

An Iranian accounting student has been sentenced to death on blasphemy charges over a social media post.Najmeh Amini, 23, is being held at Vakilabad prison in Mashhad, north-eastern Iran. She has received a death sentence in one case and a prison term of 12 years, six months and one day in another, according to The Guardian.The case comes amid a wider crackdown following nationwide protests in January, during which thousands of people were reportedly killed. According to the HRAI news agency, Hrana, said more than 50,000 people were arrested during the crackdown.What are the charges against Najmeh Amini?A source close to Amini’s family told the US-based Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI) that she was sentenced to death on a charge of sab ol-nabi, as cited by The Guardian.Amini was reportedly arrested after Iran’s Cyber Police, known as Fata, monitored her online activity. The specific content of the social media post has not been made public.In a separate case, she was sentenced to 12 years, six months and one day in prison on charges including acting against national security and spreading propaganda against the government.Iranian newspaper Khorasan, which confirmed the judicial proceedings, reported that Amini told the court she had made the remarks while hallucinating after taking psychedelic mushrooms with friends. Her defence described the incident as a “slip of the tongue”.The presiding judge reportedly rejected the explanation, questioning why Amini had not insulted other individuals or opponents of the Iranian government while in the same state.Under Article 262 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, insulting the Prophet Muhammad or revered Shia figures is punishable by death. Article 263 provides exemptions in certain circumstances, including where the remarks were made without deliberate intent.What did Amini say in her appeal for help?An audio recording attributed to Amini and released last month contains an appeal for international intervention. She called on the United Nations, lawyers and human rights organisations to investigate her case.“I do not want to make a hero out of myself today. I only want one thing: be my voice,” she said.In the recording, Amini also spoke about her hopes for the future and the distress her situation had caused her family.“I am an innocent young girl with so many hopes and dreams,” she said, adding that her parents were waiting for her and feared losing her.Her appeal has added a personal dimension to concerns raised by rights groups over the death sentence and its implications for online expression in Iran.Why are human rights groups concerned?Rights organisations have warned that Iranian authorities are increasingly using executions to intimidate the public and suppress dissent.Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) reported that more than 600 executions had already been carried out in Iran this year.Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the organisation’s director, said Amini’s sentence risked extending the use of capital punishment to peaceful expression. He also warned that the Iranian authorities were testing how far the international community would tolerate such cases.Death sentences for blasphemy remain relatively uncommon in Iran despite the recent rise in executions. The last documented executions in blasphemy-related cases took place on May 8, 2023, when Yousef Mehrad and Sadrollah Fazeli-Zare were executed after convictions linked to social media activity.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.