The municipality of Florence in Italy granted honorary citizenship to journalist Pakhshan Azizi, who is imprisoned in Iran’s Evin Prison and has been sentenced to death by the Iranian state, during a ceremony held on 14 April. The honorary citizenship certificate was received by Azizi’s brother, Aso Azizi, on her behalf.

The granting of honorary citizenship has been described as a symbolic act of defiance against the death sentence issued against Pakhshan Azizi. On 19 February 2025, the official digital media account of the 'Freedom for Pakhshan Azizi Campaign' announced that the vast majority of Florence City Council members had proposed awarding honorary citizenship to Azizi, and that the proposal had been approved.

Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish journalist and activist, was detained in Tehran on 4 August 2023. On 11 December 2023, she was formally charged with 'armed activities against Iran.' On 23 July 2024, the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Azizi to death on the same charge. The Iranian Supreme Court upheld the death sentence on 8 January 2025.