Two of the eight Iranian women who President Trump urged the Islamic Republic to spare from execution had already been released when he made the public appeal, according to a Norway-based human rights monitor.
Golnaz Naraghi, 37, and Venus Hosseininejad, 28, have been out on bail since late March, according to the Iran Human Rights organization in Oslo. The status of the other six women were not immediately clear.
Trump drew attention to the women’s plight when he re-posted a X message from American pro-Israel activist Eyal Yakoby featuring a collage of the octet.
“To the Iranian leaders, who will soon be in negotiations with my representatives: I would greatly appreciate the release of these women,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
“I am sure that they will respect the fact that you did so. Please do them no harm! Would be a great start to our negotiations!!!”
In response to Trump’s post, Iran’s judiciary claimed that some of the women had already been released — without naming them — and none faced execution. Rights groups say at least two of the other women still in detention are facing charges that carry the death penalty.
Naraghi, an emergency room doctor and internal medicine specialist, and Hosseininejad, who practices the Baha’i faith, were arrested amid the January anti-regime protests that rocked Iran.
Hosseininejad was taken into custody Jan. 15 and forced to confess to crimes against the state on public TV, her family told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Naraghi had been taken captive one day earlier and forced to sign a confession at the Qarchak women’s prison, according to the Femena human rights group.