Death row student Armin Nourmohammadi remains in legal limbo as appeal blocked
Hengaw – Monday, June 15, 2026
Armin Nourmohammadi, a student from Eslamshahr and one of the detainees of the Women, Life, Freedom (Jin, Jiyan, Azadi) movement who has been sentenced to death on charges of “waging war against God” (moharebeh), remains held in Evin Prison in Tehran. His appeal has yet to reach the Supreme Court after Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, blocked the transfer of his case file.
According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Nourmohammadi was arrested in 2023 alongside eight other individuals in Eslamshahr by Intelligence Department agents. The group was accused of setting fire to two Bank Sepah ATMs during the Women, Life, Freedom movement.
Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani, the lawyer representing the case, stated that the damage caused to the ATMs was minor. He added that Nourmohammadi’s father secured the full consent of the private complainant and paid the assessed damages of 184 million tomans to Bank Sepah. Despite the damages being fully compensated and the absence of any complainant, Judge Salavati applied the charge of “waging war against God” (moharebeh) under Note 1 of Article 287 of the Islamic Penal Code and sentenced him to death. According to the lawyer, the case file contains no evidence or legal documentation supporting the other allegations brought against him.
Reports indicate that Nourmohammadi has been subjected to significant discrimination compared to the other defendants in the same case. While all of the others received prison sentences and were released on bail, he remains the only defendant who has been held in pretrial detention since 2023. Judicial authorities have continued to refuse any modification of his detention order.
Nourmohammadi was first arrested at his home on March 30, 2023, and held for 20 days in solitary confinement, followed by another 20 days in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, where he was subjected to interrogation and intense pressure. He was subsequently released on bail of 1.5 billion tomans.
Following a judicial summons, he was rearrested on December 28, 2024, and transferred to Evin Prison, where he has remained ever since.
His lawyer stated that the appeal against the death sentence was formally registered within the legal deadline on February 6, 2026, and assigned an official registration number. However, Judge Salavati has withheld the case file and refused to forward it to Branch 9 of the Supreme Court. In response to follow-up inquiries, the Supreme Court reportedly stated that it could not take any action because the Revolutionary Court had not transmitted the file. According to the lawyer, this unlawful obstruction has left the political prisoner in complete legal uncertainty while facing the ongoing risk of execution.
