Father of Pakhshan Aziz: Support Justice, My Daughter is Just a Social Worker

The father of Pakhshan Aziz, a social worker whose death sentence has been sent to the execution department, emphasized in a voice message that his daughter is not affiliated with any political party and went to Syria solely to help affected individuals. Aziz Azizi stated in an audio file released on Saturday, January 22, that his daughter has maintained since her arrest that she is not political and has no ties to any political movement or party. The Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Pakhshan Aziz to death on charges of 'baghi' for her membership in groups that have engaged in armed rebellion against the Islamic Republic, and her brother informed Radio Farda that this sentence has been quickly sent for execution. In the audio file, Mr. Azizi mentioned that despite the 'injustices' done to his daughter, the case documents confirm that she has been a social worker in Syria for six to seven years. Mr. Azizi expressed gratitude to all those who, regardless of their beliefs, languages, and nationalities, support a social worker based solely on the pursuit of justice and fairness. Amir Reisiyaan, Pakhshan Aziz's lawyer, emphasized that his client 'was neither a member of military groups nor engaged in military activities,' stating: 'This sentence was issued in contradiction to fair trial principles and disregarding the flaws in the case.' The issuance of the death sentence for Pakhshan Aziz has sparked a wave of protests, including multiple messages from families of the bereaved and current and former political prisoners. In this context, many social media users on the evening of Saturday, January 22, protested the potential execution of Pakhshan Aziz, and political prisoners and her fellow inmates also published letters regarding this matter. Sepideh Ghaliyan, a fellow inmate of Ms. Aziz, wrote in a letter from the women’s ward of Evin Prison that this issue is 'everyone's story,' stating: 'We cannot and do not want to remain silent and we will fight death with life.' The Iranian Justice Seekers Association stated that this sentence 'stems not from justice but from the vengeance and retribution of the Islamic Republic,' declaring: 'The death of Pakhshan Aziz is the death of our conscience.' On Saturday, many Twitter users called for the halt of this social worker's death sentence. Additionally, in gatherings held in cities such as Paris and Istanbul, participants held images of Pakhshan Aziz and other political prisoners sentenced to death.