Twin sisters jailed in Iran over anti-regime protests: Ripped-out hair, broken elbows, and a ‘rape threat’

Two teenage twin sisters were taken from their beds in the middle of the night by masked men, later identified as those of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. For what? For reportedly joining millions of protesters in the agitation against the regime led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in January 2026.

However, Marzieh Nourmohammadi, the mother of the twins, Taraneh and Romina Rahimi, had no clue where her daughters were for four months. She searched hospitals, state facilities, everywhere she could possibly search for them, only to learn that they had been seized by the IRGC. She had received a call, saying, "We have your girls; come to see them at the prison."

Rape threat in prison

The mother finally got to visit them in prison in May, but she couldn't recognise her own daughters.

A US-based cousin of the twins said they had bruises on their faces, broken elbows, and had extremely patchy scalps from being dragged around by their hair, The Guardian reported.

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Taraneh was reportedly told that the prison guards would rape her twin, Romina, in front of her unless they signed a confession.

One sentenced to death, other to 25-year prison term

Around four months have passed since the mother visited her twins at the Dowlatabad prison in Iran's Isfahan city. It has now reportedly been learned that an Iranian court has sentenced Taraneh to death for her participation in the January protests against the regime, while Romina has been given a 25-year prison term.

Since the sentencing, neither of the women has been seen by their family.

The twins' cousin, Masoud Nourmohammadi, who lives in Utah, US, said Iran doesn't follow its own law.

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"There is an 18-day period that lawyers can go and appeal, but in a lot of (execution) cases recently, that has not happened. They just sentence and take the kids and execute them and hang them. So, I mean, nothing really makes sense," he was quoted as saying.

The 43-year-old cousin of the twins said he believes Taraneh was sentenced to death by hanging because of her obvious innocence, The Guardian reported.

According to him, her kindness is evident in her eyes right away. Speaking about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Nourmohammadi said, "My sense is like they're looking to put fear within people, to say, 'Look, no matter how fine you are, no matter how innocent you are, we can get you, and don't come to the streets any more."

Nourmohammadi opened up about his twins despite reportedly receiving death threats via texts and social media from people who say they are aware of his home address. However, he said that the case of his cousins should encourage a determination in people to end the Islamic regime in Iran.

How the twins were taken

The twins, who joined the protests in Isfahan on January 8 and 9 this year, were dragged out of their home with bags over their heads by masked men. Neither the twins nor the family was given any explanation about why they were being taken.

Nourmohammadi said, but when his aunt was finally informed about her daughters and was asked to come to the prison, it turned out to be heartbreaking for her to see her daughters.

"She did not recognise her own children; they were beaten up, badly swollen faces, bruises all over their bodies, broken elbows, knuckles, and feet, and they basically had no hair because they would pull their hair and drag it from one cell to another. She found out that they had been in solitary confinement," Nourmohammadi was quoted as saying.

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The twins' mother, Marzieh, was not allowed to attend the trial by herself. However, their lawyers reportedly said that Taraneh told the court that any admissions secured from the twins were obtained through torture. It is claimed that no evidence of their involvement in violence was provided, adding that they had never been involved in protests before.

Executions in Iran

Iran has reportedly executed more than 500 people so far this year, despite the war that broke out following the joint US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic on February 28. Additionally, US President Donald Trump has also been urging Iran to halt executions.

According to a Norway-based NGO, Iran Human Rights, at least 511 people have been executed so far in 2026, including at least 29 in connection with anti-government protests in January.

Among the executions, at least 16 were those of women and at least 13 of "political prisoners" associated with banned opposition groups.

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In the last week of August, Trump took to Truth Social to condemn Iran and its executions. He said, "The failing Islamic Republic of Iran is not paying large segments of their military, while at the same time killing protesters, even when they are not protesting, at levels not seen before."

"It is a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, and must be stopped, NOW," he added.

In 2025, Iran executed at least 2,159 people, according to Amnesty International. However, authorities appear to be intensifying the executions of protesters now.

Last month, over 30 nations, including France, Britain and Canada, condemned Iran's capital punishment, saying the Islamic Republic was executing protesters to "silence dissent."