Revolutionary Court Prevents Political Prisoner Pakhshan Azizi from Meeting with Her Lawyers

Pakhshan Azizi, a political prisoner sentenced to death, has been prohibited from meeting with her lawyers by the Islamic Revolutionary Court. The Islamic Republic has not allowed this civil rights activist to contact her family or have phone calls for three weeks. According to the Hengaw website report on Sunday, July 28, intelligence officials at Evin Prison have prevented Pakhshan Azizi from having a face-to-face meeting with her lawyers Amir Raeisian and Maziar Tataei since Saturday, July 27. A source close to Azizi's family stated that the 'supervising judge' informed her family that the order to deny her any right to in-person visits was issued by 'Iman Afshari,' the head of Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. The Tehran Revolutionary Court has sentenced Pakhshan Azizi, a civil rights and women's rights activist, to death on charges of 'baghi' (rebellion). This ruling was issued by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court based on claims of Azizi's 'membership' in 'groups that have engaged in armed rebellion against the Islamic government.' This political prisoner has also been sentenced to 'four years of punitive imprisonment' for the charge of 'membership in PJAK.' This second ruling was officially communicated to her lawyers on August 2. Pakhshan Azizi has previously stated that the Islamic Republic authorities have tortured her to force confessions against herself. She mentioned, 'I was repeatedly hanged during interrogations, dragged ten meters to the bottom of the ground, and then brought back out, being regarded as socially defeated and broken.' Azizi was first arrested in November 2009 during a student protest against political executions and was released on bail of 100 million tomans on March 18 of the following year. She has previously faced accusations of 'membership in opposition groups' but has always denied them. This is the second death sentence issued for female political prisoners in Iran in recent weeks. Earlier, Sharifeh Mohammadi, a labor activist imprisoned in Lakan Prison in Rasht, was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court of that city on charges of baghi. Additionally, see: The International Confederation of Trade Unions: The death sentence for Sharifeh Mohammadi must be revoked. The intelligence and judicial bodies of the Islamic Republic have previously condemned some activists and protesters to prison, execution, flogging, and exile by attributing security charges to them, an action that has always been criticized by international human rights organizations. Also, see: Six political prisoners in Evin Prison are in limbo on charges of 'baghi.' The second session of the trial of eight protesting youths in Tehran is being held; charges include propaganda against the regime, destruction of public property, and baghi. Narges Mohammadi: Political and ideological female prisoners in Evin will gather in the prison yard until Sunday morning. Users' reactions to the death sentence for Pakhshan Azizi: They are taking revenge on female activists in the most brutal way. Political prisoners in Qazalhesar Prison have also joined protests against the 'wave of executions.' Reactions to the execution of Kamran Sheikhe: 'Extrajudicial' and 'illegal murder'; the Islamic Republic must be held accountable.