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Why has Iran’s Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of a 43-year-old woman arrested during the January 2026 protests? And what happens next to the mother of two who was convicted of setting fire to a supermarket?
Leila Abolhasani, a hairdresser and nail technician from Isfahan Province, had been sentenced to death in May 2026 over allegations of involvement in an arson attack. However, following an appeal by her defence lawyer, Iran’s Supreme Court has overturned the original sentence and referred her case to another branch of the court for a retrial.
According to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling issued by Branch Five of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court after reviewing the appeal submitted on Abolhasani’s behalf.
But what led to her arrest in the first place?
Security forces detained Abolhasani on 8 January 2026, during protests in Shahin Shahr, Isfahan Province. Reports indicate that she was filming a fire at a branch of the Ofogh Kourosh supermarket chain when she was arrested.
Iranian judicial authorities subsequently accused her of involvement in the supermarket fire. In May 2026, Branch Five of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Vahid Hemmatnejad, sentenced her to death on charges of “moharebeh”, commonly translated as “waging war against God”.
However, what evidence was presented to support the allegations against her? Human rights organisations have raised concerns about the lack of clear, publicly available evidence supporting the accusations. The full details of the evidence presented during her original trial have not been made public.
Abolhasani, who is the mother of two teenage daughters, has remained in Dowlatabad Prison in Isfahan since her arrest.
Does the Supreme Court’s decision mean she is now free? Not yet. Although the original death sentence has been overturned, she has not been acquitted or released. Her case will now be reconsidered by another branch of the court, with the outcome of the retrial still unknown.
The latest development has brought renewed attention to her case, raising further questions about the judicial proceedings, the evidence against her and the possibility of a different verdict in the upcoming retrial.
