Iran court reissues death sentence for labor activist

A court in the northern Iranian city of Rasht, has reissued a death sentence for labor activist Sharifeh Mohammadi, her supporters announced Thursday citing her lawyers.

The Campaign to Defend Sharifeh Mohammadi, supported by her family, said Branch 2 of Rasht's Revolutionary Court reinstated the sentence after Iran’s Supreme Court overturned her initial conviction. The case had then referred to another branch for retrial, the group said in a statement on X.

"Mohammad Ali Darvish Goftar, head of Branch 2 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court, upheld the ruling. He is the son of Ahmad Darvish Goftar, the judge of Branch 1, who had issued the original death sentence," the group said.

Last July, Mohammadi was sentenced to death by Branch 1 of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court in Rasht, under Judge Ahmad Darvish Goftar. She was convicted on charges of armed rebellion due to her alleged membership in the national Labor Unions Assistance Coordination Committee (LUACC), which operates legally in Iran, and the banned Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan.

In October her lawyers said the Supreme Court had overturned the verdict and referred the case to another branch for retrial.

"LUACC is an independent labor organization with no ties to any political group. Issuing death sentences is an act of war against women and retaliation against labor and social activists," the group added.

Earlier this month, Iran’s Supreme Court rejected a motion for a retrial in the case of another Kurdish political prisoner and humanitarian worker on death row, sparking fears among rights groups that her execution is imminent.