Statement from Thousands Inside and Outside Iran Protesting Death Sentence for Pakhshan Azizi

In continuation of the protests against the death sentence issued for Pakhshan Azizi, a social worker, thousands of individuals in a new statement declared their "serious" objection, emphasizing that "the execution of Pakhshan Azizi will be a wound on our conscience." 3,400 artists, writers, poets, journalists, civil, political, and religious activists, students, lawyers, and citizens inside and outside Iran signed this statement published on Sunday, January 30, stating: "No society will become more just by shedding human blood. There is no place for the word execution on the path to justice." Pakhshan Azizi, a social worker and civil activist, was sentenced to death in early August this year by the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Iman Afshari, on charges of "Baghi" for "membership in groups that have engaged in armed uprising against the Islamic government." Ms. Azizi had previously worked as a social worker in Syrian Kurdistan, assisting Yazidi women who had escaped from ISIS. The lawyer for this political prisoner announced on Wednesday, January 19, that the death sentence issued by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, despite numerous formal and substantive flaws, has been confirmed by Branch 39 of the Supreme Court. Following this, her brother told Radio Farda last week that his sister's case has been sent to the execution section. The UN Special Rapporteur: Pakhshan Azizi's case reflects the harassment of female minority activists. In response to the publication of such news and the ongoing protests inside and outside regarding the potential execution of Ms. Azizi, the signatories of the new statement wrote: "This time, not as artists or civil activists or any other figures, but as people in pain, as citizens of this country, Iranian families, who feel a duty against any oppression, we declare our serious objection to the death sentence of Pakhshan Azizi." Atash Shahkarami and Atefeh Chahmalian, artists, Atena Daemi and Arash Sadeghi, civil and human rights activists, Azadeh Mokhtari, journalist, Ismail Bakhshi and Ismail Abdi, civil activists, Elnaz Rokabi, athlete, and Elham Modarresi and Elaheh Tavakolian, victims of the protests of 1401, are among the signatories of this statement. Previously, several activists and political prisoners have expressed their objection to the death sentence for Pakhshan Azizi; among them, Narges Mohammadi stated that the confirmation of Pakhshan Azizi's death sentence shows the Islamic Republic's determination to intensify the repression of women and take revenge on the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement. Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, also described Pakhshan Azizi's case as "reflective of the broader harassment of female minority activists" in Iran.