With the Rejection of the Request for Retrial, Pakhshan Azizi Faces the Death Penalty

Amir Reysian, the lawyer for Pakhshan Azizi, a social worker in prison, states that his client's request for retrial has been rejected. Mr. Reysian, in a post on social media platform X, pointed out "significant errors" in the handling of the case and "existing mistakes" that could put his client at risk of execution. According to what this lawyer published on Thursday, February 18, the Tehran Revolutionary Court initially sentenced Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish political prisoner, to imprisonment for membership in the PJAK group, but then, without clear reasons, sentenced her to death for membership in an unspecified group. He published images of the initial ruling, the ruling of the appeal stage, and the retrial request, stating that Ms. Azizi was sentenced to imprisonment for membership in PJAK and to death for membership in an unknown group, but in the appeal stage, Branch 39 of the Supreme Court confirmed her death sentence based on the "incorrect assumption" that Ms. Azizi was a member of ISIS. Meanwhile, according to Mr. Reysian, the defenses presented regarding PJAK or Kajar were misread by the presiding judge, who confused Kajar with ISIS. PJAK is an abbreviation for the "Party of Free Life of Kurdistan," and Kajar is a shortened form for the "Free Women’s Society of Eastern Kurdistan." According to Amir Reysian, after the retrial request, Branch 9 of the Supreme Court not only failed to correct this gross error but also committed a new mistake by introducing Pakhshan Azizi as a member of the Democratic Party. He then published an image of a report from the government-affiliated news agency Tasnim, stating that the claim of membership in the Democratic Party was first made by this news agency close to the IRGC. Pakhshan Azizi's lawyer emphasized that this indicates some officials did not properly study the case and relied on unofficial sources and "specific" media. This lawyer concluded that the existing mistakes in Pakhshan Azizi's case go beyond a simple error and indicate serious negligence in a case where a death sentence has been issued, ultimately severely questioning the validity of the issued rulings. According to Amir Reysian, he and his client Pakhshan Azizi will again request a retrial from the Supreme Court and will ask the head of the judiciary to prevent the execution of Pakhshan Azizi by applying Article 477. According to this article of the Criminal Procedure Code, if the head of the judiciary determines that a final ruling of judicial authorities is "against clear religious law," he sends the case for retrial to the Supreme Court. The execution of Pakhshan Azizi's sentence has been halted. Human rights media report that in the past month, the widespread arrest and repression of Arab, Baluch, and Kurdish citizens and activists have increased, with dozens arrested in various cities in Khuzestan, Sistan and Baluchestan, and Kurdistan. The widespread arrest of citizens and activists in the cities of Kurdistan province followed a general strike in the cities of this region on the 3rd and 4th of Bahman, protesting the death sentences of Varishe Moradi and Pakhshan Azizi. Pakhshan Azizi, a social worker and civil activist, was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court on charges of "rebellion" through "membership in groups that have engaged in armed uprising against the Islamic government." This ruling was issued in a separate case for Varishe Moradi, a women’s rights activist. The issuance of these sentences for two Kurdish citizens sparked a wave of protests inside and outside Iran. Diana Tahavi, the Deputy Director for Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, in response to the rejection of Pakhshan Azizi's retrial request, called on the international community to urgently demand that Iran stop the execution of this Kurdish humanitarian worker. Amnesty International emphasized in its statement that Ms. Azizi was sentenced to death following "arbitrary detention and unfair trial." This human rights organization added that Pakhshan Azizi was arrested solely for her "peaceful human rights and humanitarian activities." Amnesty International also emphasized that Ms. Azizi provided humanitarian assistance to women and children displaced by ISIS attacks in northeastern Syria. Ms. Tahavi concluded that Pakhshan Azizi must be immediately and unconditionally released.