Amir Reisiyan, the lawyer of Kurdish political prisoner Pakshan Azizi, announced that the Iranian Supreme Court upheld the death sentence handed to his client.

In a statement on his social media account, the lawyer said that the documents submitted to the court for Pakshan Azizi’s defence were also rejected. 

Born in Mahabad and currently held in Evin Prison in Tehran, Pakshan Azizi is a women's rights defender, journalist and civil society activist.

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 held in the notorious Evin prison. On 23 July, a court in Iran's capital sentenced Azizi to death by hanging for "armed rebellion against the system." Her file was then sent to the Supreme Court.

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.

Pakshan 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 students’ protests against the execution of Kurdish political prisoners. She was released on bail in March 2010.

Additionally, Azizi faces a new charge of "rioting in prison" in a case being handled by Branch 3 of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office, allegedly related to the second round of the 2024 presidential election.

She had also been arrested previously, on November 16, 2009, and was released on bail after four months.

In early August 2024, Aziz Azizi (Pakhshan’s father), Parshang Azizi (her sister), and Hossein Abbasi (her brother-in-law) were convicted in a joint case with Pakhshan Azizi. Each was sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court to one year in prison for the charge of "assisting a criminal to evade trial and conviction." On September 26, the Court of Appeals confirmed these rulings.

Aziz Azizi, Parshang Azizi, and Hossein Abbasi were arrested at the same time as Pakhshan Azizi and later released on bail.

On 26 September, Pakhshan Azizi was taken from Evîn Prison to a hospital after her health problems worsened and doctors 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."

The Kurdish activist is imprisoned under dire conditions, denied legal representation, medical care and regular family visits.

The death sentence for Pakshan Azizi has sparked widespread protests inside and outside Iran. Numerous human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have condemned the ruling and called for its immediate reversal.

Her fellow inmates in Evin Prison have staged several sit-ins and hunger strikes to show solidarity and protest the sentence.