Who Is Bita Hemmati? Iran to Execute Its First Woman Over Recent Wave of Anti-Regime Demonstrations

Iran’s hardline regime is reportedly gearing up to execute its first female protester linked to the recent wave of demonstrations, with rights groups estimating that around 1,600 people have been sentenced to death over the past year.

Bita Hemmati is set to become the first woman to be executed in connection with the protests that erupted across the country in January and were brutally suppressed by government forces. The regime has accused her of several offenses, including using explosives and weapons, throwing objects like concrete blocks, taking part in protest gatherings, and undermining national security, according to a statement released Tuesday by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

No Mercy

Her husband, Mohammadreza Majid Asl, 34, along with two other men, Behrouz and Kourosh Zamaninezhad, were also handed death sentences after what has been described as a rushed trial, with their assets seized as well.

All of them were arrested in Tehran, the epicenter of the nationwide protests and the place where some of the largest demonstrations against the Iranian regime took place.

“The Iranian Resistance once again calls on the United Nations, relevant international bodies, and human rights defenders to take immediate action to save the lives of prisoners sentenced to death, especially political prisoners and those detained during the uprising,” the NCRI said in a statement.

This came as a new report revealed that the Iranian regime carried out more 1,600 executions last year, a level not seen in three decades since the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1989.

The shocking statistics were detailed in a joint report by the nonprofit groups Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty, which estimated that at least four people were executed each day in Iran in 2025.

Overall, the report recorded at least 1,639 executions during the year — the highest figure since the mass killings of 1989, when around 1,700 political prisoners were put to death after the war. It’s unclear how many of the total number of executions were carried out in public.

Never Seen Before

Most of those executed last year were hanged for drug-related crimes or murder, with both categories rising compared to 2024. Death sentences for drug offenses surged by 58%, while executions tied to murder — which almost always result in capital punishment — surged by a striking 79%, according to the report.

At least 57 people — including two protesters — were sentenced to death on vague charges such as “waging war against God” and “corruption on Earth,” according to the report.

It also found that at least 48 women were executed, marking the highest number in two decades.

Many of these death sentences were issued by Revolutionary Courts after what the report described as deeply unfair trials that lacked proper due process.

The groups behind the report also pointed out that people from marginalized communities, including ethnic and religious minorities, made up a disproportionate share of those executed.

The report does not include the wave of executions ordered since the nationwide uprising in January or those carried out after the conflict with Israel and the US began.

State media has confirmed at least 14 executions so far this year, but the Norway-based Hengaw Organization for Human Rights says there is evidence suggesting the number could be as high as 160 since January.