Taraneh and Romina Rahimi: 2026 Sakharov Prize goes to the International Criminal Court

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced in the plenary in Strasbourg on Thursday, 22 October 2026, that the 2026 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought goes to the International Criminal Court and its staff. Taraneh and Romina Rahimi, 21-year-old twin sisters from Isfahan who were arrested after the Dey uprising and sentenced to death and long prison terms, were one of the three finalists for this year's Sakharov Prize.

The third finalist was Tundu Lissu, the leader of Tanzania's opposition. The European Parliament had nominated the Rahimi sisters on behalf of all those persecuted by the Islamic Republic. Their nomination was backed by the European People's Party group, the Socialists and Democrats group, and the European Conservatives and Reformists group together with the Patriots for Europe group. The award ceremony will be held in December in Strasbourg, and the prize is worth 50,000 euros.

The Rahimi sisters' case at the Isfahan Revolutionary Court

Taraneh and Romina Rahimi were arrested by security forces after the protests of 8 January 2026 in Isfahan. The Isfahan Revolutionary Court sentenced Taraneh Rahimi to death and 11 years in prison on a charge of "moharebeh" and other charges. Romina Rahimi was sentenced to 36 years in prison on a charge of "complicity" in the same case.

The two sisters say the confessions taken from them were obtained under pressure and torture. Taraneh Rahimi was made to confess to stabbing a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who was killed during the protests, and Romina to being present at the clashes. Both are held in Dolatabad prison in Isfahan. Their cousin said on 14 October that Taraneh had been deprived of food in retaliation for the family's statements abroad.

Europe's attention to political executions in Iran

The Rahimi sisters' place on the Sakharov shortlist came at a time when the Islamic Republic's revolutionary courts are issuing more death sentences for detainees of the Dey uprising. This week the Isfahan Revolutionary Court sentenced Ilia Benrashid, a 22-year-old protester from Shahinshahr, to death, and in the north of the country Manouchehr Fallah's death sentence was upheld again. Three years ago the Sakharov Prize went to Jina Mahsa Amini and the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement.

Although this year's prize went to the International Criminal Court, the fact that two young prisoners of the Dey uprising reached the shortlist of the European Union's highest human rights prize keeps their case before the European Parliament; a case that has put one of the two sisters at risk of execution.

Taraneh Rahimi, 21, remains under a death sentence in Dolatabad prison in Isfahan.