The China Mail - 'One of the kindest people': Taraneh, 21, facing execution in Iran

The 20-year-olds chanted anti-government slogans in the city's Shohada Square during two nights of rallies that took place across the country and were suppressed in a crackdown that rights groups say left thousands dead.

A week later, both young women were suddenly arrested and their home raided, according to relatives based outside the country, who accuse the authorities of torturing the twins and putting them in danger by failing to take care of medical conditions.

In July, along with 14 other people, they were hauled before a court set up inside an Isfahan prison and accused of involvement in the deaths of a member of the Revolutionary Guards and a homeless person during the protests.

Having marked their 21st birthdays behind bars, Taraneh was a month later sentenced to death on charges of "waging war against God" and Romina to 36 years in prison, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists (HRANA) NGO.

Suffering from knee pain and other conditions, Taraneh was taken to see a doctor who said that she must be hospitalised outside of prison but the authorities did not allow the transfer, their cousin Masoud Nourmohammadi, who is based in the United States, told AFP.

"She was told: 'It does not matter how you die, you will be hanged anyway'. There is physical torture and ongoing mental torture," he said.

- 'Nothing makes sense' -

The verdict is still subject to appeal but Iran has already executed 29 people -- so far all men -- in connection with the protests, after what rights groups including Amnesty International have described as grossly unfair trials based on confessions obtained through torture.

Activists accuse Iran of hanging protesters to spread fear throughout the population, against the backdrop of the war against the United States. The Iranian judiciary insists it is taking action against those behind "riots" in the protests.

"There is no evidence against them," said Nourmohammadi.

"The lawyers had no access to the case until the first day of the trial. They (the authorities) are not even following their own laws. Nothing makes sense at all," he said.

HRANA said that, before the trial, "defendants' lawyers did not have access to a substantial portion of the case file and objected that they had not been given sufficient time to review the documents and evidence".

- 'We will rape your sister' -

Taraneh, like several defendants in the case, worked in a shoe shop on Shohada Square. But her big passion was for horses, with her Instagram showing the young woman proudly riding or training them.

"Taraneh is one of the kindest people that I know. You can see that from her eyes. She loves animals. She wanted to be a horse rider," said Nourmohammadi, adding that she and her sister belonged to a generation dreaming of change.

Based on information sent from inside the prison to the family, he accused the authorities of subjecting the twins to torture, saying interrogators deliberately put pressure on Taraneh's knee that had undergone surgery.

"They tortured her knee, elbow, and knuckles.

"What went beyond even this is that the kids (arrested in the protests) were tortured in front of each other. They would torture one person after another. They made sure that Taraneh could hear Romina's screams while she was being tortured.

"Taraneh was told: 'If you do not sign this confession, we will rape your sister in front of you.' And of course she signed the forced confession."

- 'Relentless attack on right to life' -

The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said there were growing concerns about Taraneh Rahimi's physical condition.

She "is facing mobility issues and has lost a significant portion of her ability to walk", it said.

In a separate case in the same city, a court has also sentenced to death Leila Abolhasani, a 43-year-old mother of two teenagers, convicting her of setting fire to a store during the protests, HRANA said.

According to HRANA, a total of eight women across Iran are facing capital punishment on security or protest-related charges.

Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights says it has identified a total of 100 people sentenced to death over the protests, including 31 in Isfahan province alone.

Human Rights Watch and the US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran in a joint report described the executions as a "relentless attack on the right to life".

"Day after day, Iran's authorities are sending protesters, including teenagers, to the gallows based on torture-tainted 'confessions' and following grossly unfair proceedings that are too short to establish a defendant's guilt even for a minor offense, let alone for capital charges," said Bahar Saba, senior Iran researcher at HRW.

Nourmohammadi described those targeted as "young, brave Iranians -- the best of Iranians".

"They (the Islamic republic) want to create fear that no matter how brave you are they will come and get you."

S.Davis--ThChM