ROME,— An Italian court on Wednesday acquitted Maysoon Majidi, an Iranian-Kurdish activist, of human trafficking charges that her supporters claimed were part of the far-right government’s crackdown on migration.
Majidi fled Iran after years of repression for speaking out against misogyny. She arrived in Calabria, southern Italy, on December 31, 2023, after making the dangerous Mediterranean crossing.
Authorities arrested her the next day on charges of aiding illegal immigration, which carries a sentence of six to 16 years in prison. The charges were based on testimonies from two fellow migrants, who later retracted their statements.
Her detention sparked international criticism, with human rights groups, including Amnesty International, calling her a victim of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s hardline stance on irregular migration.
Majidi was released on October 22, 2024, but had been waiting for a final court decision to clear her name.
According to media reports, a court in Crotone, southern Italy, ruled in her favor after the captain of the overcrowded boat testified that she had no role in smuggling the nearly 80 migrants onboard.
Born in 1996 in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhelat), Majidi studied theatre and sociology.
She played a role in organizing protests following the 2022 death of Jina (Mahsa) Amini, a fellow young Iranian Kurdish woman, in police custody.
Since its rise to power in 1979, the Islamic regime has imposed discriminatory laws and policies against the Kurds in Iranian Kurdistan across all social, political, and economic spheres.
Majidi has previously said she hopes to reunite with her brother in Germany once her legal ordeal is over.
Meloni’s government has vowed to curb boat arrivals and take a tough stance against human traffickers operating from North Africa.
(With files from AFP)
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