Pakhshan Azizi, with her visitation rights still denied, awaits Supreme Court ruling

 Hengaw, Wednesday, 6 November 2024  

 Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish political prisoner sentenced to death, has been deprived of in-person visits with family members and her lawyers for the past 125 days. Her case was referred to the Supreme Court around twenty days ago.  

 According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Pakhshan Azizi, a political prisoner from Mahabad currently held in Evin Prison, has awaited the Supreme Court's ruling for 125 days. This period of deprivation coincides with the second round of Iran’s 14th presidential elections.  

 A source close to Azizi's family stated that, in addition to being denied in-person visits for the past four months, she was also prohibited from making phone calls until three weeks ago. Meanwhile, her lawyers, Amir Raeisian and Maziar Tataei, are continuing efforts to secure a meeting with her.  

 On Wednesday, 14 August 2024, Pakhshan Azizi was sentenced to death on charges of "baghi" (rebellion). Later, a separate case was opened against her in Branch 3 of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office under the charge of “instigating prison unrest,” for which she received an additional six-month prison sentence.  

 It is noteworthy that Pakhshan Azizi was arrested by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence on 4 August 2023 in the Kharazi neighborhood of Tehran. She was initially held in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, known as the Intelligence Detention Facility, before being transferred to the women's ward of Evin on 11 December 2023.  

 Azizi was previously arrested on 16 November 2009 during a protest by Kurdish students at the University of Tehran against the execution of political prisoners in Kurdistan. She was ultimately released on 19 March 2010, after four months in detention, posting bail of 100 million tomans.  

Afterward, facing persistent pressure and threats from security agencies, Pakhshan Azizi left Iran. She later engaged in research on the status of women in Iraqi Kurdistan and Syrian Kurdistan, working as a social worker to improve their living conditions.