A lower court will reconsider Leila Abolhasani’s case after Iran’s Supreme Court set aside her death sentence, HRANA reported Oct. 29, leaving the 43-year-old facing further proceedings rather than an acquittal.
HRANA said Abolhasani’s lawyer had appealed before the Supreme Court returned the matter to a lower court. The agency reported that Branch 5 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court had sentenced her to death in connection with the alleged store fire.
HRANA reported that authorities alleged Abolhasani took part in setting fire to a store during January 2026 protests. The agency cited a person close to her family who said she was documenting events in Shahin Shahr while an Ofogh Kourosh store burned.
HRANA and Hengaw reported that Abolhasani was arrested in Shahin Shahr on Jan. 8, 2026. HRANA later reported her transfer to Dowlatabad Prison in Isfahan.
Amnesty International said Oct. 13 that Iranian authorities had executed at least 34 people in connection with the January uprising. A United Nations (U.N.) mission said in a Sept. 21 report that Iranian government announcements counted at least 29 protest-related executions since March, while more than 70 people then faced imminent risk of a death sentence or execution. The mission placed the crackdown in the context of earlier unrest, including the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, and described use of the death penalty during periods of upheaval as a recurring pattern.
Human Rights for Sport says at least six Iranian athletes face execution; EconoTimes previously covered the people the group identified as being at risk. HRANA said the next step is renewed review of Abolhasani’s case by a lower court.
