37 Women Prisoners in Evin Banned from Visits Following Protest Against Death Sentence for Pakhshan Azizi

Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist imprisoned, reported on her Instagram account that 37 political prisoners in Evin have been banned from visits due to their protest against the death sentence issued for Pakhshan Azizi. In a post published on Saturday, August 4, it was stated: "According to a notification from the women's ward of Evin prison, 37 prisoners have been banned from visits due to their overnight sit-in in the yard of Evin prison in protest against the death sentence for Pakhshan Azizi." On the same Saturday, a number of social and student activists issued a statement protesting the issuance of this death sentence, stating: "The government is trying to quell protests from various groups, including women and ethnic minorities, through repression, but does not realize that such repressions deepen existing crises." They emphasized in their statement that sentences like death can reproduce violence in public consciousness. Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish civil activist, has been imprisoned since August of last year and was sentenced to death by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Iman Afshari, earlier in August. This branch announced that the accusation against this social worker was 'Baghi' (rebellion) through 'membership in groups that have engaged in armed uprising against the Islamic government.' Pakhshan Azizi, who is a graduate of social work, has been held in the Ministry of Intelligence detention center and then in Ward 209 of Evin prison for the past year. In a letter published recently on the Hengaw website, she detailed the torture she experienced during interrogation, stating that during this time she was 'hanged multiple times by interrogators.' About two weeks before the death sentence was issued for Pakhshan Azizi on the charge of Baghi, Sharifeh Mohammadi, a labor activist imprisoned in Lakan prison in Rasht, was also sentenced to death on a similar charge. The issuance of death sentences for these two female political prisoners has faced widespread reactions. A number of women prisoners in Evin also staged a sit-in from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning (the night of August 3 to 4) in the women's ward yard, chanting slogans such as 'No to execution.' A few days later, a group of political female prisoners imprisoned in Evin announced that they would stage a sit-in in the yard of this prison in protest against the issuance of the death sentence for Pakhshan Azizi, the Kurdish civil activist. In a joint text published on Instagram by some of these prisoners, including Narges Mohammadi, Golrokh Iraee, and Nahid Taghavi, it was emphasized that these women prisoners in Evin would gather in the yard of Evin prison from 7 PM on Saturday, August 6, until the next morning and would not return to their ward. After that, no news was published about this sit-in or any potential response from the authorities of Evin prison towards the protesters. In recent years, the Islamic Republic has sentenced many civil activists and Iranian protesters to death on charges of 'Baghi,' meaning 'armed rebellion against the regime.' In the laws of the Islamic Republic, the charge of 'Baghi' is defined as 'armed uprising against the regime,' and its punishment is usually death.