Pakhshan Azizi Becomes Honorary Citizen of Florence, Italy

The campaign for the freedom of Pakhshan Azizi announced on Tuesday, February 19, that this human rights activist sentenced to death in Iran has become an honorary citizen of Florence, Italy. According to the report, the Florence City Council unanimously approved the proposal to grant honorary citizenship to Pakhshan Azizi. The campaign for Azizi noted: "This decision is a confirmation of her tireless efforts in defending the rights of women and children displaced in the Middle East and a strong condemnation of her unjust death sentence in Iran." The campaign stated, "Pakhshan, who has fought for peace and human rights for years, has now become a symbol of resilience and courage." The campaign for Pakhshan Azizi wrote: "The city of Florence, with this action, expresses its solidarity with her and all human rights defenders around the world." Additionally, the issuance of the death sentence for Azizi and the rejection of her appeal has sparked widespread protests globally. Recently, the Young Socialist International called on the Iranian authorities to "immediately halt the execution of Pakhshan Azizi, who has dedicated nearly a decade of her life to supporting women and children displaced by the war against ISIS in Syrian Kurdistan." Pakhshan Azizi was sentenced to death and four years in prison on August 24 of this year by Branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran, presided over by Iman Afshari, on the charge of "rebellion through membership in opposition groups." She was arrested on August 4 of last year along with her father, sister, and sister's husband in Tehran. After about four months in solitary confinement at the Ministry of Intelligence detention center (Ward 209 of Evin Prison), she was transferred to the women's ward of this prison. According to the Iran Human Rights Organization website, security officials accused her of being a member of groups that engage in armed activities against the Islamic Republic, but according to Pakhshan Azizi's lawyer, her humanitarian work "in northern Syria in the Shangal refugee camp and other refugee camps from the ISIS war was peaceful and fundamentally apolitical, focused on providing aid against ISIS attacks." Zhiila Mostajer stated that the court made a gross error in sentencing Pakhshan Azizi to death. Azizi was previously arrested in 2009 due to her political activities and was released on bail after four months. The United States had previously called for the cancellation of Pakhshan Azizi's death sentence. Additionally, Maya Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, expressed concern on February 8 about the rejection of Pakhshan Azizi's appeal and urged Iranian authorities to immediately halt her execution. A group of UN experts also expressed deep concern on January 15 regarding the confirmation of Pakhshan Azizi's death sentence by the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In Iran, cities in the Kurdish region witnessed widespread strikes on January 22 in protest against the issuance of the death sentence for Pakhshan Azizi and another civil activist, Vrishe Moradi. The call for this strike was issued by Kurdish parties.