Twenty-Six Human Rights Organizations Demand Immediate Cancellation of Pakhshan Azizi’s Death Sentence

Hengaw: Monday, September 9, 2024

The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, along with twenty-five other human rights organizations, has issued a joint statement condemning the death sentence of Pakhshan Azizi. In the statement, they collectively demand the immediate and unconditional cancellation of Azizi’s death sentence and call for her release.

The full text of the statement is as follows:

Joint Statement of Human Rights Organizations Condemning the Death Sentence of Pakhshan Azizi:
 
We Demand the Immediate and Unconditional Revocation of Pakhshan Azizi's Death Sentence and Her Release.
 
We, the undersigned human rights organizations, express our deep concern and strong objection to the situation of all political prisoners in the Islamic Republic of Iran who are sentenced to or at risk of being sentenced to death, and we fundamentally oppose this inhumane and cruel punishment for all individuals. We strongly condemn the issuance of the Iranian judiciary’s death sentence for Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish woman activist and social aid worker. This sentence is not only a blatant violation of human rights principles and standards, as well as international conventions and treaties, but also a clear manifestation of the systematic repression of freedom of expression and the right to life in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
 
Pakhshan Azizi, who has consistently worked to raise public awareness, support women's rights, and achieve social justice both during and after her student years as a social worker, is now facing this cruel punishment due to her efforts in defending basic human rights and fundamental freedoms.
 
From the very first moments of her arrest, which was accompanied by violence from Islamic Republic security forces, she was subjected to torture—including months of solitary confinement without the right to meet with her family or access to a lawyer—in order to extract forced confessions and fabricate a case against her. The outcome of such a process can never lead to justice, and Pakhshan was later sentenced to death in a completely unfair judicial process, deprived of the fundamental rights that every prisoner should have.
 
As a political prisoner, Pakhshan is charged with “rebellion” and sentenced to the death penalty despite denying any involvement in armed operations. Her lawyers have also clearly stated: "Ms. Azizi not only did not participate in any armed operations, but she was also in Iraq and Syria for seven years. Due to ISIS atrocities, she had to move to refugee camps in the Rojava region of Syria in 2015, where she was helping refugees and victims because she was a social worker. Even in her sentencing, there is no mention of any military operations or conflict involving Ms. Azizi with any government or non-governmental entity in Iran."
 
The undersigned human rights organizations demand the revocation of Pakhshan Azizi’s death sentence and her immediate and unconditional release. This sentence is not just a threat to the life of a civil and social activist, it is also a clear and unlawful attempt by the Iranian government to retaliate against supporters of the "Jin, Jiyan, Azadi" (Women, Life, Freedom) uprising, suppress peaceful dissent, and continue the systematic violation of women's rights in Iran.
 
We also call on the international community—the UN, governments worldwide, and human rights organizations—to take immediate and effective action, to express their protest against this unjust death sentence against Ms. Azizi, condemn the executions in Iran that are carried out without due process or fair trials, and to address the severe and widespread violations of human rights by the Islamic Republic government. The global community should use all legal, political, and diplomatic mechanisms and capacities to prevent the issuance and execution of such inhumane sentences by Iran's judiciary.
 
It is evident that the continued oppressive measures and issuance of heavy sentences, such as the death penalty for political and social activists, perpetuate the cycle of violence and human rights violations and increase the existing multifaceted discrimination and repression in Iran. Therefore, decisive and practical steps must be taken to halt this trend.
 
The undersigned human rights organizations firmly believe that the judicial process in the Islamic Republic is completely unjust and discriminatory, and therefore all death sentences must be immediately revoked.
 
While emphasizing the urgent need for the immediate revocation of Pakhshan Azizi’s death sentence and all other death sentences in Iran, we call for increased pressure on Iran's judiciary by the global community, international human rights organizations, concerned citizens worldwide, and civil activists inside and outside Iran. Only through the synergy of forces and effective practical measures can we stop the systematic repression and unlawful punishments in Iran, and the Islamic Republic’s killing machine.

Aban Families for Justice
Abdorrahman Boroumand Center
Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation (AHRO)
All Human Rights for All in Iran 
Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran - AHRAZ
Baloch Campaign
Centre For Human Rights in Iran
Femena
Hana, Human Rights Organization
HÁWAR.help e.V. Germany
Hengaw, Organization for Human Rights 
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO)
Justice for Iran
Kurdistan Human Rights Association-Geneva (KMMK-G) 
Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN)
Kurdistan Press Agency, Kurdpa
Kurdistan Tribunal
6Rang (Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network)
Shiwar Human Rights - Balochistan
Siamak Pourzand Foundation
The Centre for Supporters of Human Rights
The Defenders of Human Rights Center
United4Iran
Victim's Families for Transitional Justice
World Kurd Organisation
Zagros Human Rights Center