Two Kurdish female activists, Pakhshan Azizi and Warisha Moradi, face possible imminent execution in Iran, Human Rights Watch said today.
At the call of six political parties, a general strike has begun in Kurdistan of Iran to protest the sentences.
Iranian security forces have sent threatening messages to residents in the western Kurdish areas (Rojhelat) warning them against participating in the general strike.
Security officials have warned shopkeepers through phone calls and text messages that their businesses will be closed, and the owners will face punishments if they continue the strike.
In an apparent attempt to divert public attention and discourage participation in the strike, several state news agencies in Iran reported this morning that the death sentence for Pakhshan Azizi had been “postponed”. These reports were later contradicted.
Azizi is awaiting imminent execution for allegedly being a member of Iranian Kurdish groups considered “terrorists” by Tehran such as KDPI and PJAK. She was sentenced to death in June 2024 on charges of “armed rebellion.”
Moradi was handed a death sentence by a Tehran court in November of last year on charges of “armed insurrection” for allegedly being a member of PJAK. She is a member of the East Kurdistan Free Women Society (KJAR).
