According to East Kurdistan media, Pakhshan Azizi was taken from Evîn Prison to a hospital after her health problems had worsened and doctors had advised that she should be treated in hospital.

On 23 September, a post on Pakhshan Azizi’s digital media account stated that the journalist's request for treatment had been rejected.

The post said: ‘Pakhshan Azizi suffers from headaches and her family is ready to pay for her treatment, but she is still not allowed to see a doctor.”

Background

Pakhshan Azizi is a social worker and also worked as a journalist. In August last year, she was arrested in Tehran by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and was severely tortured both physically and psychologically for weeks. She is currently in the notorious Evin prison. In July, a court in Iran's capital sentenced Azizi to death by hanging for "armed rebellion against the system."

She was accused, without evidence, of being a member of the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK). She herself denies the accusation as baseless and speaks of a political verdict. Trials in Iran are systematically unfair because prisoners are denied the right to due process, including access to legal counsel, and "confessions" extracted through torture are usually used as evidence for their conviction.

Pakhshan Azizi studied social work at Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran, where she was first arrested in November 2009. She was accused of taking part in student protests against the execution of Kurdish political prisoners. She was released on bail in March 2010.