Dominique Attias calls on France, the European Union, and international governments to halt the executions of Arghavan Fallahi and Zahra Shahbaz Tabari and hold Iranian regime officials accountable for violations of due process.
Attias, who served as president of the European Bars Federation in 2021–2022, warned that the scale of executions in Iran extends far beyond officially acknowledged figures. According to human rights organizations cited in her address, more than 700 executions had been recorded since the beginning of 2026, while many others remained unreported. She described a climate in which families learn of relatives’ deaths only after executions have taken place, often without being allowed a final visit or farewell.
🔵کنفرانس به مناسبت روز جهانی علیه حکم اعدام، دومینیک آتیاس
کنفرانس به‌مناسبت ۱۰ اکتبر روز جهانی علیه اعدام با حضور شخصیت‌های برجستهٔ سیاسی و حقوقدانان
نه به اعدام در ایران:
ضرورت حسابرسی از سردمداران رژیم
ارجاع پرونده جنایات رژیم به شورای امنیت سازمان مللسخنرانی دومینیک آتیاس… pic.twitter.com/lVl2PT8JpL
— Simay Azadi (@simayazaditv) October 11, 2026
Arghavan Fallahi and Zahra Shahbaz Tabari Face Execution
Attias drew particular attention to the cases of Arghavan Fallahi, 24, and Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, an electrical engineer with a master’s degree in sustainable energy from Sweden. Both women have been sentenced to death in proceedings that have raised serious concerns about judicial fairness and the treatment of political prisoners.
Fallahi was first arrested alongside her father in 2022 and spent two years in prison. Following her re-arrest in early 2024, she reportedly endured months in the security wards of Tehran’s Evin Prison, where reports concerning her case described severe pressure and torture.
On July 1, 2026, Judge Abolghassem Salavati sentenced her to death on charges of armed rebellion. Salavati, widely known among Iranians as the “Death Judge,” has been associated with cases involving severe sentences against political defendants.
Tabari’s case, Attias argued, illustrates the shortcomings of Iran’s judicial proceedings. In October 2025, Tabari was tried in a hearing lasting less than ten minutes, during which her court-appointed lawyer reportedly offered no defense. According to Attias, UN experts noted that the case rested on a piece of fabric bearing the words “Woman, Resistance, Freedom.”
Although Iran’s Supreme Court overturned the original sentence, a court in Rasht sentenced Tabari to death again in spring 2026.
Judicial Proceedings Under Scrutiny
Attias argued that such proceedings fall far short of international standards for a fair trial. Iran is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which establishes protections for due process and fair judicial proceedings.
She highlighted concerns about forced confessions obtained under torture, inadequate legal representation, extremely brief hearings, and the reimposition of death sentences after higher courts have overturned earlier rulings.
Attias also criticized the use of charges such as armed rebellion against political opponents, including members and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). She characterized these charges as instruments for silencing dissent rather than the basis of genuinely fair proceedings.
Call for International Accountability
Attias identified impunity among judicial and security officials as a central factor enabling continued executions. She called on France, the European Union, and other governments to take four immediate steps:
- Publicly demand the suspension of the death sentences against Arghavan Fallahi and Zahra Shahbaz Tabari.
- Make relations with Tehran conditional on ending these executions.
- Support UN investigations to preserve and document evidence of human rights violations.
- Pursue universal jurisdiction and targeted sanctions against judges who issue death sentences and officials responsible for carrying them out.
These measures, she argued, would help challenge the assumption that those responsible for torture, politically motivated prosecutions, and executions can act without consequences.
A Future Beyond Executions
Attias concluded by linking the cases of the two women to the broader struggle for a democratic Iran. She said those facing execution represent aspirations associated with the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and its principal constituent organization, the PMOI/MEK: a country without executions, with equal rights for women before the law and the freedom of its people to determine their own future.
Her final appeal centered on the urgency of preventing the two women’s executions and ensuring they survive to witness a future in which capital punishment and political repression no longer define Iran’s judicial system.