Iranian twins sentenced to death and 25 years after brutal protest crackdown
Twin sisters Taraneh and Romina Rahimi were arrested by the IRGC for joining January protests and received a death sentence and a 25-year term, amid reports of severe abuse.
In early January 2026, teenage twins Taraneh and Romina Rahimi took part in protests against the regime led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Isfahan. They were later abducted at night by masked members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and held in Dowlatabad prison. After four months, their mother Marzieh Nourmohammadi was allowed a visit and found the girls severely beaten, with broken elbows, swollen faces and extensive hair loss.
Court proceedings resulted in Taraneh receiving a death sentence and Romina a 25-year imprisonment, with reports that guards threatened sexual violence to force confessions. Their cousin Masoud Nourmohammadi, now in Utah, condemned the verdicts as unjust and said the IRGC aims to instill fear. The sentencing occurs amid a wave of executions in Iran, where more than 500 people have been put to death this year, drawing international condemnation.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTBoth camps describe the twins' abduction, torture and sentencing, but left-leaning coverage stresses the verdicts as unjust and the IRGC’s intent to instill fear, while right-leaning coverage highlights alleged kidnapping, forced confessions and a lack of legal due process.
LEFT
Focuses on the brutality of the IRGC, labeling the sentences as unjust and portraying the regime as using terror to silence dissent
RIGHT
Emphasizes alleged kidnapping, forced confessions and the absence of legal due process in the twins' prosecution
The left emphasises
- guards threatened sexual violence to force confessions
- the IRGC aims to instill fear
- the sentencing occurs amid a wave of executions in Iran
The right emphasises
- defense lawyers reported admissions were forced through torture
- no proof of violent actions was presented
- criticism of the lack of legal due process
