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IRAN - Kurdish political prisoner Pakhshan Azizi is at imminent risk of execution
February 6, 2025: February 6, 2025 - IRAN. Kurdish political prisoner Pakhshan Azizi is at imminent risk of execution after her Article 474 appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court.
Iran Human Rights considers Pakhshan Azizi’s death sentence to be part of the Islamic Republic’s policy of intimidation following the “Woman, Life, Freedom” nationwide protests. Highlighting the sharp rise in executions in 2024, particularly the execution of women, it calls on the international community to take immediate action to stop the execution and revocation of Pakhshan Azizi’s death sentence.
IHR Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “The rejection of Pakhshan Azizi’s appeal indicates that the Islamic Republic sees no way forward other than execution and further repression. The threat of Pakhshan’s execution is serious, and we can only prevent it by raising the political cost through public protests and international pressure.”
According to her lawyer, Pakhshan Azizi’s Article 474 appeal request was rejected by Branch 39 of the Supreme Court on 25 January 2025. Her lawyers were notified on 5 February. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Amir Raisian stated that while Pakhshan had been involved in humanitarian work to help those displaced by ISIS, the judge who upheld her sentence had based his decision on her being an ISIS member.
Her lawyer, Amir Raeesian, shared the news on X (formerly Twitter) with an image of the court ruling, which revealed that the judge of Branch 39 of the Supreme Court mistakenly assumed Azizi was a member of ISIS, unaware that her work had been humanitarian and aimed at aiding those displaced by ISIS attacks. The request for a retrial based on the factual and legal flaws, has now been rejected.
He wrote: "The rush to issue a ruling led to serious misunderstandings. While our defense focused on groups like PJAK or KJAR, the judge misread the evidence and wrongly equated KJAR with ISIS."
Pakhshan Azizi, a Mahabad native, was arrested in Tehran with her father, Aziz Azizi, her sister Parshang Azizi and her brother-in-law Hossein Abbasi on 4 August 2023. Pakhshan Azizi was held in the IRGC’s Ward 209 in Evin Prison for five months following her arrest and banned from visitation rights in that period, including visits with her lawyers. She was subsequently transferred to the Women’s Ward of Evin Prison.
Her trial took place on 16 and 17 June 2024. Pakhshan was sentenced to death for charges of “baghy (armed rebellion) through membership in armed opposition groups” by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Afshari. Her lawyers were notified of the judgement on 23 July. Her sentence was upheld by Branch 39 of the Supreme Court in early January.
Azizi had previously been arrested in 2009 for political activities and was released on bail after four months.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/7321/
https://www.en-hrana.org/supreme-court-rejects-pakhshan-azizis-request-for-retrial/
https://hengaw.net/en/news/2025/02/article-22 (Source: IHR)
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