The Continued Detention of Pakhshan Azizi, Imprisoned Journalist

The human rights organization "Hangaw" reported on Thursday, November 9, about the continued detention of Pakhshan Azizi, a journalist and social worker, and her uncertain and unknown conditions in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. According to this human rights organization citing informed sources, Ms. Azizi has been deprived of her right to access a lawyer, in-person visits, and telephone contact with her family since her arrest on July 4 of this year. She was arrested by the forces of the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Intelligence in the Kharazi neighborhood of Tehran. According to the report, at the time of this journalist and social worker's arrest, her father, mother, son-in-law, sister, and 16-year-old niece were also detained, but were released after a few days. Ms. Azizi has a history of a four-month detention on November 16, 2009, during a protest by Kurdish students at Tehran University against the execution of political prisoners. She was released on March 18 of the same year after posting a bail of 100 million tomans. Pakhshan Azizi later left Iran due to continuous pressure and threats from the Islamic Republic's security agencies and conducted research on the status of women in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Syrian Kurdistan. According to Hangaw, she also carried out social work activities in this context. Meanwhile, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported that the website "Bitaavan," belonging to the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Intelligence, announced on Wednesday, November 8, the detention of Pakhshan Azizi, Vrisheh Moradi, and Sirwan Mohammadrezaei. This security website did not mention the date of the arrest of these three individuals and introduced them as members of "PJAK," the Free Life Party of Kurdistan. Typically, the security and judicial apparatus of the Islamic Republic accuses civil, professional, political, and ideological activists in Iran of having connections with their opposing political organizations. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network noted that it had previously reported the arrest of Vrisheh Moradi, a member of Kajar (Free Women's Society of Eastern Kurdistan), on July 31 of this year in Sanandaj.