A 43-year-old Iranian mother of two teenagers has been sentenced to death by hanging following her arrest during anti-government protests in January. Layla Abolhasani was detained on January 8 in the city of Shahin Shahr after she photographed a fire at a branch of a local supermarket chain. Iranian authorities accused her of setting the blaze herself, charging her with "moharebeh", a term meaning "enmity against God" that carries the death penalty under Iranian law.
According to reports, no evidence linking her to the arson has been released publicly, and details about her trial proceedings and legal defense remain undisclosed. Judge Vahid Hamatnejad of Branch 5 of the Revolutionary Court in Isfahan handed down the death sentence in late May. Abolhasani has been held at Doulat Abad Prison in Isfahan since her arrest. She has appealed the verdict, and her case has been transferred to Iran's Supreme Court, which is reportedly still reviewing the appeal.
