Iran must rescind its death sentence against Kurdish women’s rights activist and social worker Pakhshan Azizi, a group of 26 human rights organizations said in a joint statement this week.
Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence had arrested the 39-year-old Azizi in August 2023 and kept her in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, where she was exposed to physical and psychological torture, including months of solitary confinement.
Branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, charged Azizi with “rebellion,” which the news site Iran Wire describes as “a broad term used to describe various forms of political dissent and alleged armed resistance against the Islamic government.”
However, Azizi has denied engaging in any violence, ultimately facing a trial devoid of due process, according to the joint statement.
“This sentence is not only a blatant violation of human rights principles and standards, as well as international conventions and treaties, but also a clear manifestation of the systematic repression of freedom of expression and the right to life in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the joint statement said.
