Amnesty International: The Global Community Must Prevent the Execution of Pakhshan Azizi

Amnesty International issued a statement urging the global community to immediately call on the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to halt the execution of Pakhshan Azizi. This international human rights organization emphasized on Thursday, February 7, that Azizi was 'arbitrarily' detained by the Iranian authorities due to her 'humanitarian activities' and was sentenced to death following a 'severely unfair trial.' Diana Tahavi, Deputy Director of Amnesty International for the Middle East and North Africa, reacted to reports about the rejection of Azizi's request for retrial by the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic, stating: 'Pakhshan Azizi was merely detained in connection with peaceful human rights activities, including providing humanitarian aid to women and children in northeastern Syria who were displaced by attacks from armed groups like ISIS; instead of facing imminent execution, she should be released immediately and unconditionally.' According to Tahavi, the Supreme Court's decision to reject the retrial request 'once again shows how the Iranian authorities are determined to use the death penalty as a tool for political repression and instilling fear among the people.' She emphasized that 'the death penalty is abhorrent under any circumstances' and referred to Azizi's statements about 'torture and other ill-treatment, including gender-based violence,' deeming the death sentence issued for this civil activist after 'a severely unfair trial in the Revolutionary Court' as 'arbitrary,' which 'once again demonstrates the shameful disregard of the authorities' for the right to life. Tahavi stressed: 'Governments around the world must now, before it is too late, speak out loudly against this injustice and stop the execution of Pakhshan Azizi.' Amir Reisiian, Azizi's lawyer, announced on Thursday that the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic had rejected his client's retrial request and that the order to halt the execution had been revoked, warning that 'the risk of execution exists at any moment.' Pakhshan Azizi was sentenced to death and four years in prison on August 24, 2024, by Branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran, presided over by Iman Afshari, on charges of 'rebellion through membership in opposing groups.' She was arrested in the summer of 2023 by the intelligence forces of the Islamic Republic in Tehran. The United States had previously called for the cancellation of the death sentence for Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish activist and social worker. A group of United Nations experts also expressed deep concern on January 15, 2024, regarding the confirmation of Azizi's death sentence by the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic. According to the United Nations Human Rights Council website, they wrote: 'The charges against Ms. Pakhshan Azizi do not meet the threshold of the most serious crimes necessary for the imposition of the death penalty under international law' and emphasized that 'her death sentence constitutes a serious violation of international human rights law.' The confirmation of Pakhshan Azizi's death sentence has faced widespread domestic and international criticism. In this context, cities in Iranian Kurdistan witnessed a widespread strike by merchants and businesses on January 22, 2024, in protest against the death sentence issued for Pakhshan Azizi and another civil activist, Vrishe Moradi. The call for this strike was issued by Kurdish parties. A day after this public strike, the government-affiliated news agency Tasnim, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, claimed that the execution of Pakhshan Azizi had been postponed. A statement from 1,200 activists and political prisoners: executions of women in Iran must stop. Campaign for the freedom of Pakhshan Azizi: hundreds of thousands demand the cancellation of the death sentence. The Iran Human Rights Campaign called for an end to the repression of 'minority communities' in Iran. A report from a human rights organization on the status of 77 female prisoners in Evin. A European Parliament representative called for the cancellation of the death sentences for Pakhshan Azizi and Vrishe Moradi.