Trump calls for Iran to release 8 women amid ceasefire talks

President Trump on Tuesday urged Iran not to execute eight women accused of crimes against the Islamic Republic amid ceasefire talks in Islamabad, Pakistan. 

“To the Iranian leaders, who will soon be in negotiations with my representatives: I would greatly appreciate the release of these women,” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform. 

“I am sure that they will respect the fact that you did so. Please do them no harm! Would be a great start to our negotiations!!!” he added.

Trump’s post included a screenshot from a 23-year-old commentator, Eyal Yakoby, who shared the images of eight women that he said were sentenced to death. 

The eight women were identified as Bita Hemmati, Ghazal Ghalandari, Golnaz Naraghi, Venus Hossein Nejad, Panah Movahedi, Ensieh Nejati, Mahboubeh Shabani and Diana Taher Abadi by the Lawfare Project, a Jewish human rights nonprofit based in New York. 

Hemmati is believed to be the first woman protester sentenced to death by Iran. 

She was accused of encouraging a January uprising against the Iranian regime in Tehran and was subjected to torture and interrogation eventually resulting in a confession on state television, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

Hossein Nejad and Peyvand Naeimi, who was not named by the Lawfare Project, were taken from their workplaces by Iranian security forces and also forced to confess on state TV to organizing protests they never attended, according to The Telegraph. 

Naraghi is a 37-year-old emergency medicine specialist at a hospital in Tehran and was arrested by security forces in January as well, per the Femena human rights group. 

Shabani is accused of assisting injured protesters and was arrested in February, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported.

Social media reports say Nejati was taken in January and is the mother of a 5-year-old. 

Two of the women pictured have been identified as teenagers. Taher Abadi, a 16-year-old student, was detained on January 25, according to an Iranian news outlet. Movahedi is also reportedly a teenager accused of attending demonstrations against the regime. 

Trump has spoken out against Iran’s decision to execute protesters deemed as opponents to the regime. His administration says he stopped 837 people from being hanged in January of this year, when large groups held demonstrations against the regime. 

The president’s Tuesday comments urging Iran not to kill protesters come as the U.S. and Iran attempt to resume negotiations for a long-term peace agreement.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the eight women facing the death penalty in Iran.

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