Iran's Supreme Court rejected the reopening of the case of Kurdish female activist Pakshan Azizi.

According to Azizi’s lawyer, Amir Raesian, the death sentence against the Kurdish journalist and activist is final and can be carried out at any time. The lawyer will appeal the verdict and the process of the trial, “because a big mistake is being made.” 

Pakhshan Azizi was arrested in Tehran on 4 August 2023, by Iranian Intelligence Service, and held in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Evin Prison for five months. On 23 July 2024, Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced her to death for “armed rebellion against the state (baghy)” and “membership of opposition groups”, along with a four-year prison term for alleged membership in the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK). On 8 January 2025, Branch 39 of the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence.

According to a UN expert group, Azizi’s arrest and sentencing appear to be solely related to her legitimate work as a social worker, including her support for refugees in Iraq and Syria. The 40-year-old activist from Mahabad worked for humanitarian aid organizations based in the autonomous region of North and East Syria and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq until she was abducted in Tehran in August 2023 by agents of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence. Her focus was on the social care of Yazidi women and children in camps who had been displaced from their homes as a result of the genocide committed by the terrorist organization “Islamic State” (IS) in August 2024 in Shengal. She also previously worked as a journalist.