Najmeh Amini

Najmeh Amini is an Iranian national documented by Hengaw, the Kurdish human rights organisation, as facing charges of "moharebeh" (enmity against God, a capital offence under Iranian law) linked to alleged Israel-connected activities, filed against her on 9 May 2026 in Mashhad. The "moharebeh and Israel" charge category is a new prosecutorial framing that Iranian courts have begun using during the Hormuz conflict period to criminalise contacts or activities perceived as sympathetic to Israeli positions. It carries the death penalty under Iranian law.

Mashhad is Iran's second-largest city and a major Shia pilgrimage destination in Khorasan Razavi Province. Amini's case is one of several documented by Hengaw in the 6-9 May period, a cluster that Hengaw attributes to Iran's intensifying domestic security crackdown during the conflict. The specific framing of her charge as Israel-linked distinguishes it from prior moharebeh prosecutions focused on Kurdish political activism: it indicates the security services are extending capital-charge frameworks into a new category of perceived external-loyalty offences.

Amini's notoriety level is low (3-4): she is an emerging documented case rather than a high-profile political prisoner. Her significance for the Lowdown record is as an early documented instance of the new "moharebeh and Israel" charge category, which if applied consistently could represent a significant escalation in Iran's domestic legal tools for suppressing perceived pro-Israel sentiment during the conflict.