Statement from 1200 Activists and Political Prisoners: Executions of Women in Iran Must Be Halted

More than 1200 women activists, anti-death penalty activists, and political prisoners issued a statement noting that at least 938 individuals, including 29 women, were executed in the past year. They called on 44 countries and international organizations to pressure the Islamic Republic to end the execution of women in Iran. This statement was sent to over 100 international feminist organizations, anti-death penalty organizations, and supporters of prisoners. The statement, published on the social media account attributed to Golrokh Iraee, a political prisoner in Evin Prison, states that many women sentenced to death are victims of severe domestic violence, forced marriages, and child marriages, with a significant number of these women sentenced to death for killing their husbands. They urged activists and non-Iranian organizations to prioritize the voices of women and LGBTQ+ individuals in programs addressing the relationship between gender-based violence and the death penalty. The signatories emphasized that over half of all recorded executions in Iran are related to drug offenses, and most of those executed come from marginalized communities. They also warned of the imminent execution of civil activists Pakhshan Azizi and Varishe Moradi, calling for immediate efforts to halt their death sentences and secure their release. The statement further urged organizations, civil activists, and international women's rights advocates to seize every opportunity, especially at global events where representatives of the Islamic Republic provide 'misleading information' about 'women's rights advancements' in Iran, to hold them accountable for the 'alarming statistics on the execution of women.' Among the signatories are Zeinab Jalalian, Narges Mohammadi, Golrokh Iraee, Maryam Sadat-Yahyaei, Hoorah Nikbakht, Sakineh Parvaneh, Matoureh Ghonei, and Vida Rabani. Last December, the Iran Human Rights Organization reported that in 2024, 31 women were executed in Iranian prisons. Since 2008, when this organization began recording execution statistics, this level of executions of women has been unprecedented. According to the report, from 2010 to 2024, at least 241 women were executed in Iran, among whom 9 were child brides, three of whom were under 18 at the time of the alleged crimes. Campaign for the release of Pakhshan Azizi: Hundreds of thousands demand the abolition of the death penalty. At least 87 prisoners were executed in one month in the prisons of the Islamic Republic. The Iran Human Rights Campaign called for an end to the repression of 'minority communities' in Iran. The Iran Human Rights Organization requested the abolition of the death sentences of 6 political prisoners.