The United States Urges the Islamic Republic to Revoke the Death Sentence of Pakhshan Azizi

On Tuesday, January 25, the Deputy Special Representative of the United States for Iran called for the revocation of the death sentence of Pakhshan Azizi, an activist and social worker. Abram Paley stated in a message on the social media platform 'X' that the U.S. government urges the Iranian regime to revoke the death sentence of the humanitarian worker following a 'sham trial' of Pakhshan Azizi. Paley emphasized that 'the Iranian regime' must stop targeting Kurdish minorities and using the death penalty to silence peaceful dissent. A group of United Nations experts also expressed their deep concern on Tuesday, January 25, regarding the confirmation of Pakhshan Azizi's death sentence by the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to the United Nations Human Rights Council website, they wrote: 'The charges against Ms. Pakhshan Azizi do not amount to the most serious crimes necessary for the imposition of the death penalty under international law' and stressed that 'her death sentence constitutes a serious violation of international human rights law.' Ms. 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 charges of 'rebellion through membership in opposition groups.' She was arrested last summer by the intelligence forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Tehran. The UN experts noted: 'The arrest and conviction of Ms. Azizi appear to be solely due to her legitimate activities as a social worker, including supporting refugees in Iraq and Syria.' They expressed concern over reports of 'severe psychological and physical torture during her solitary confinement to extract a confession' and her deprivation of family visits and access to her chosen lawyer. These experts added that several members of Pakhshan Azizi's family have also been temporarily detained and faced national security charges, likely to pressure her into forced confession. They stated: 'The use of torture to extract confessions and deprivation of fair trial rights demonstrate the arbitrary and unlawful nature of the death sentence against Ms. Azizi.'