There are fears about the fate of women’s rights activists imprisoned in Iran following a wave of executions since the election of new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in July.

At least 87 people were reportedly executed in July, with another 29 executed on one day this month. Among the mass executions was Reza Rasaei, a young man sentenced to death for his participation in the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests.

Human rights groups fear more executions ahead of the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death in custody and the unprecedented nationwide protests that followed. Amini, 22, was arrested before her death in September 2022 for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code.

According to reports, around 70 women are currently being held as political prisoners in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, including two who have been sentenced to death: Iranian Kurdish journalist Pakhshan Azizi and industrial engineer and women’s rights activist Sharifeh Mohammadi. Two other activists – Varisheh Moradi and Nasim Gholami Simiyari – have been charged with the same crimes, but it is not yet clear whether they will be sentenced to death.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said that numerous female political prisoners face execution on “spurious charges.”

“Faced with a women’s movement in Iran that refuses to give in, the Islamic Republic’s authorities are now trying to threaten these women with the gallows. This is a desperate attempt to silence dissent,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of CHRI.

The family of Narges Mohammadi, the imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner and celebrated activist, said she was among women in Evin Prison who were reportedly injured after being beaten by guards for protesting against Rasaei’s execution in the prison yard.

The family issued a statement saying that after the protests on August 6, the women’s ward was flooded by prison guards and security forces and an order was issued to attack the protesters. Several women who stood in front of the security forces were severely beaten. The family said they were told that Narges collapsed and fainted after being repeatedly beaten by the guards. UN human rights experts condemned reports that the women were denied access to timely and adequate health care.

Azizi and Sharifeh Mohammadi were sentenced to death in July for “armed rebellion against the state.”

Azizi, a 40-year-old Kurdish women’s rights activist and social worker, was reportedly tortured during interrogation, including mock executions. In a letter from Evin Prison titled “Denial of the Truth and Its Alternative,” published by the non-governmental organization Hengaw for Human Rights, she stated that she was tortured, subjected to mock executions and placed in solitary confinement.

Zeinab Bayazidi, a former political prisoner and friend of Azizi, told the Guardian that the death penalties against women and ethnic minorities were aimed at destroying the common struggle against the regime.

“The Islamic Republic is taking revenge for the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ revolution, which spanned all borders from Kurdistan to Balochistan and Tehran and generated solidarity and empathy and a revolution of this level that is unprecedented,” she said.

Sharifeh Mohammadi, 45, was arrested in her home in Rasht in December 2023, according to human rights activists.

A close family member told the Guardian on condition of anonymity that they were shocked and “never thought Sharifeh would be sentenced to death”. They said Sharifeh was also “shocked” after hoping for bail.

“Women were among the strongest individuals who stood up against the regime during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. I believe that by condemning Sharifeh and others, they are taking revenge.”

Sharifeh’s family said they were reluctant to tell their 12-year-old son the news of the death penalty. “It is very difficult and we are trying to enlist the help of a child counselor to break the news as painlessly as possible.”

A United Nations fact-finding mission on Iran said this month that minorities in Iran have been disproportionately affected by a “striking increase in executions since the protests in September 2022.” Most recently, several death sentences have been imposed on women from ethnic minorities.

Activists warned that the oppression of female activists was also evident in long prison sentences based on fabricated charges and forced confessions.

Soma Rostami of the human rights organisation Hengaw said: “It is clear to everyone that the Islamic Republic of Iran only wants to spread fear among the people through executions. Female activists are under great pressure and all possible reprisals are being used to prevent demonstrations led by women from happening again.”