Iranian Kurdish activist Pakhshan Azizi at risk of execution: rights groups

Iranian Kurdish activist Pakhshan Azizi at risk of execution after sentence upheld — Iranian Kurdish activist Pakhshan Azizi on death row in Iran, 2024. Photo: SM

PARIS,— An Iranian Kurdish activist is facing imminent execution after the country’s supreme court upheld her death sentence, sparking widespread condemnation from rights groups and international observers.

Pakhshan Azizi, 40, was sentenced to death in July 2024 on charges of “rebellion” following her arrest in August of that year. Azizi, a humanitarian worker and civil society activist, is being held in the women’s section of Tehran’s Evin Prison.

Her lawyer, Amir Raisian, said Thursday that an appeal had been filed with the supreme court but was rejected, despite “numerous flaws in the case.” “Unfortunately, the death sentence was confirmed,” Raisian told the Tehran daily Shargh. He plans to submit a retrial request, though such appeals rarely succeed in Iran’s judicial system.

Azizi is accused of ties to “outlawed” Kurdish armed groups operating in the region, allegations her legal team strongly denies. Amnesty International described her trial as “grossly unfair,” noting that Azizi had dedicated years to assisting women and children displaced by conflict in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) and Iraqi Kurdistan (Bashur).

“She is being punished for her peaceful humanitarian efforts, which had no political dimension,” Raisian said. Amnesty also reported that Azizi endured “enforced disappearance” and “torture and other ill-treatment” during her interrogation.

Iran Human Rights (IHR), a Norway-based NGO, condemned Azizi’s sentencing, saying it was intended to intimidate the public in the wake of widespread anti-government protests in 2022-2023, particularly in Kurdish-populated regions.

“This unlawful sentence is aimed at silencing dissent and must be condemned in the strongest terms,” IHR Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said.

The protests, led largely by women under the banner “Woman, Life, Freedom,” were sparked by the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who died in custody after being arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code.

Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a former cellmate of Azizi, called for international solidarity. “The confirmation of Pakhshan Azizi’s death sentence is a clear act of vengeance against women’s rights activists and the Kurdish community,” she wrote on social media.

Kurdish rights groups have long documented systemic discrimination in Iranian Kurdistan, home to over 12 million Kurds. Residents face restrictions on cultural expression, such as bans on Kurdish names, limited access to political and economic opportunities, and entrenched poverty.

The regime has used discriminatory policies to marginalize the Kurdish population since 1979, according to activists. Rights groups are urging global leaders to pressure Tehran to halt Azizi’s execution and address the broader persecution of Iran’s Kurdish minority.

Since the Islamic Republic’s rise to power in 1979, it has imposed discriminatory laws and regulations targeting the Kurdish population in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhelat), impacting their social, political, and economic lives.

Kurds in Iran suffer from ongoing discrimination in areas such as religion, culture, and economic opportunities. Kurdish parents are forbidden from giving their children certain Kurdish names, and religious minorities, mostly Kurdish, are subjected to measures that isolate and stigmatize them.

The Kurdish population also faces discrimination in securing employment, housing, and political rights, resulting in entrenched poverty and marginalization. More than 12 million Kurds are estimated to live in Iranian Kurdistan.

(With files from AFP | Agencies)