Trending 
Iranian courts have sentenced two women to death over their alleged roles in January’s anti-government protests, rights groups said Monday.
The two women were convicted in separate cases linked to protests in Isfahan, a major centre of the unrest.
According to Iran Human Rights (IHR), 29 men have already been executed over charges linked to the demonstrations.
No woman has so far been executed over the protests, although IHR said Iran has hanged at least 16 women this year on other charges.
Taraneh Rahimi, who is 20 years old, was sentenced to death alongside nine men over incidents at a square in Isfahan where two people were killed. The other defendants received prison sentences of up to 36 years, including Rahimi’s sister, Romina.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said defence lawyers lacked access to significant parts of the case file and were not given enough time to review the evidence.
In a separate case, 43-year-old Leila Abolhasani was sentenced to death for allegedly setting fire to a store during the protests. Her relatives have denied the accusation, saying she was at the scene filming the burning store.
Abolhasani was convicted of “waging war against God”, and her case has been sent to Iran’s Supreme Court for review.
The January protests peaked on January 8 and 9 and spread across several parts of Iran.
The latest death sentences come against the backdrop of the ongoing war between Iran and the United States.
In April, US President Donald Trump called for the release of Iranian women he said faced execution over the protests.
However, rights groups later said some of the women cited in the claim had not been sentenced to death or were no longer detained. One of them, Bita Hemmati, had received a death sentence over the protests, but HRANA said in April that it had been overturned.
