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More than 400 prominent women, including four Nobel laureates and several former presidents and prime ministers, demanded Tuesday that Iran immediately release engineer and activist Zahra Tabari, fearing she faces imminent execution.

The urgent public appeal charged that Tabari, a 67-year-old mother, was handed a death sentence in October following "a sham 10-minute trial, held remotely via videoconference without her chosen legal representation."

The letter, which was organized by a London-based association of families of victims called Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran, said Tabari faced "execution solely for holding a banner bearing the words 'Woman, Resistance, Freedom.'"

The banner was an apparent play on "Woman, Life, Freedom," a popular slogan during the 2022 nationwide protests sparked by the death in Iranian custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

There was no mention in Iranian official media about her case, nor confirmation that she had been sentenced to death.

Nonetheless, a group of eight independent United Nations rights experts also issued a statement Tuesday demanding Iran "immediately stop the execution" of Tabari, saying she had been found guilty of "baghi," or armed rebellion, based solely on the banner and an unpublished audio message.

"Ms. Tabari's case shows a pattern of serious violations of international human rights law regarding fair trial guarantees and the inappropriate use of capital punishment for broad and ill-defined national security offenses," they said.

The experts, who are mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the world body, stressed that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Iran, restricts use of the death penalty to the "most serious crimes."

"This case involves no intentional killing and contains numerous procedural violations," they said, insisting that "to execute Tabari under these circumstances would constitute arbitrary execution."

Tuesday's joint appeal, signed by the former presidents of Switzerland and Ecuador, as well as the former prime ministers of Finland, Peru, Poland, and Ukraine, charged that the case laid bare the "terror" faced by women for decades in Iran, which is "today the world's number one executioner of women per capita."

According to Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR), Iranian authorities have executed more than 40 women this year alone.

"In Iran, daring to hold a sign declaring women's resistance to oppression is now punishable by death," said Tuesday's letter, which was also signed by a slew of sitting judges, diplomats, and current parliamentarians like US Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace.

"We demand Zahra's immediate release, and we call on governments worldwide to stand with the women of Iran in their quest for democracy, equality, and freedom."

The appeal said Tabari stood accused of collaborating with the opposition organization People's Mujahedin (PMOI, also known by the Persian acronym MEK), which is banned in Iran.

PMOI told AFP she was one of 18 activists who were currently on death row in Iran for their affiliation with the group.

AFP