The Supreme Leaders of Iran.Image: keystone
Even Donald Trump is getting involved, but it doesn’t help: young people who protest against the regime are executed every day in Tehran.
April 23, 2026, 9:55 a.mApril 23, 2026, 9:55 a.m
It would be a “great start to our negotiations,” writes Donald Trump on social media. The US president is referring to the release of eight Iranian women who are reportedly facing execution for their roles during nationwide protests earlier this year.
The Iranian judiciary denied the alleged death sentences of all eight women. The US President was “once again misled by fake news”.
Before new negotiations, the Iranian regime should save the lives of five women, says Donald Trump.Image: keystone
In his request, Trump refers to a post by pro-Israel activist Eyal Yakoby. He shared pictures of the eight women. According to the New York Post, one of them is Bita Hemmati. According to Iranian authorities, she had, among other things, thrown bricks at police officers during anti-regime protests and was arrested along with her husband and two other men. All four were sentenced to death for their alleged crimes.
Also seen in the pictures are 16-year-old Diana Taherabadi and Mahboubeh Shabani (33, doctor). The latter was arrested because she is said to have provided medical care to injured demonstrators. Although it may not be entirely clear what the Iranian judiciary is accusing the eight women of, they shed a dark light on the current situation in Iran.
Because the cases are no exception. According to aid organizations, tens of thousands of people were killed in January when the regime brutally suppressed the demonstrations. As many more were arrested. According to the resistance movement “National Council of Resistance of Iran” (NCRI), over 300 people were executed in January alone. According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, more people were executed in 2025 than in 35 years: a total of 1,639.
“It’s a show of force”
It was only on Tuesday that 24-year-old Amir Ali Mirjafari was hanged, among other things because of alleged connections to the Mossad. He is said to have set fire to a mosque in Tehran during demonstrations in January. Two more men were executed on Monday for alleged espionage.
“The regime is making things even easier for itself today than it used to be,” says Awin Tavakoli. She grew up in Iran. In an interview with CH Media, the lawyer says: “In the past, they always argued that the accused were waging war against God through protests. Now they are also talking about foreign agents and treason – all with the death penalty as a consequence.
The Iranian-born woman is a lawyer and entrepreneur. She has lived in Switzerland since 2003.Image: zvg
Currently people are being hanged almost every day. “It is a pure show of force. They want to terrorize the people,” says Tavakoli. The population should not believe that the regime is weakened because of the war and cannot take action against its own people. There have been cases in which the authorities promised a prisoner’s family a meeting, only to execute him shortly before the date. After the execution, families then have to pay to collect their loved one’s body.
The fear of one’s own regime is greater
It was only thanks to social media that the cruel practices of the Iranian regime became known. “That’s why they turn off the internet whenever possible,” says Tavakoli. She has also been struggling to get in touch with her family for months. Contact is currently limited to a few minutes per week.
Tavakoli knows about her relatives and acquaintances in Iran: “People are less afraid of the war with the USA and Israel, and more of the war against their own regime.” This would cost the Iranian population significantly more lives. With the Americans and Israelis, she at least knows that the Iranian civilian population is not the target. “It’s different with the Iranian regime.” (aargauerzeitung.ch)